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<;KNKKAL  JAMES  H.   LANE. 


LIFE 


OP 


GEN.  JAMES  H.  LANE 


"The  Liberator  of  Kansas" 


Corroborative  Incidents  of  Pioneer  History 


BY  JOHN  SPEER 


GARDEN  CITY,  KAS. 

JOHN  SPEER.  PRINTER 
1896 


Entered  according  to  Act    of    Congress,  in    the    year 

1896,  by  John  Spoor,  in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of 

Congress,  at  Washington. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

CHAPTER  I.  Birth,  Parentage  and  Early  Career, 9 

II.  Repeal  of    Missouri  Compromise — Excitement    over 

Slavery — Outrages  on    Settlers 17 

III.  Movement  for  a  Constitutional  Convention,     ...     34 

IV.  The  Wakarusa  War — Attempted  Subjugation,      .     .     49 
V.  Speeches  that  Still  Speak 66 

VI.  Continued  Outrages  in  the  Winter  of  1855-6,     ...     72 

VII.  Anecdotes  of  Lane  and  his  Compeers, 84 

VIII.  General  Lane's  Campaign  for  Fremont, 101 

IX.  Lane's  Military  Defense  of  Kansas  in  1856,    ....  109 

X.  The  Free-State  Triumph, 135 

XL  "A  Turbulent  and  Dangerous  Military  Leader,"  .     .  152 
XII.  Gov.  Denver's  Assault  upon  Lane  and  his  Staff,    .     .  163 

XIII.  The  Leaven  worth  Constitution, 175 

XIV.  The  Homicide  of  Gaius  Jenkins, 187 

XV.  A  Period  Fruitful  of  Important  Results,       ....  219 

XVI.  Elected  to  the  United  States  Senate 227 

XVII.  Bivouac  in  the  Presidential  Mansion,        234 

XVIII.  Gen.  Denver's  Kansas  Campaign, 242 

XIX.  Delahay's  Appointment  as  United  States  Judge,        '  244 
XX.  General  Lane  on  the  Vigorous  Prosecution  of  the  War 

and  on  Colored  Troops,          247 

XXI.  QuantrilPs  Massacre  at  Lawrence,        265 

XXII.  Location  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway,        ....  272 

XXIII.  The  Second  Nomination  of  Lincoln, 279 

XXIV.  The  Price  Raid  and  Political  Campaign  of  1864,     .     .  285 
XXV.  Senator  Ingalls  on  Lane — Lane's  Southern  Expedition 

— The  Henderson  Amendment,  302 

XXVI.  The  Causes  of  General  Lane's  Death,        313 

XXVII.  Congressional  Eulogies  upon  his  Death,        ....  317 
XXVIII.  Glimpse  at  Events — Lane's  Acts  and  Characteristics,    327 


JOHN  SPEER. 


PREFACE. 

The  first  sentence  in  the  preface  to  Grant's  Memoirs  reader  "Man 
proposes  and  God  disposes."  If  this  is  true  cf  Grant's  great  work  in 
the  American  conflict,  how  much  more  emphatic  the  sentence  seems 
when  applied  to  the  earlier  struggle  where  the  whole  question  of 
slavery  progression  was  fought  over  and  the  victory  locally  won  which 
finally  warranted  and  demanded  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  and 
culminated  in  the  surrender  at  Appamattox,  and  the  overthrow  of  the 
institution.  (This  victory  was  won  .jn  Kansas j/and  I  write  of  one 
who  led  the  forlorn  hope  againstTVn  oligarchy^fwhich  had  ruled  the 
Nation  from  its  foundation,  and  up  to  that  period  seemed  strengthen- 
ing from  year  to  vear.UilLsome  of  its  leaders  boasted  in  the  halls  of 
Congress  that  they  would  live  to  call  the  roll  of  their  slaves  in  the 
shadow  of  Bunker  Hill  Monument.  \_\Vhen  James  H.  Lane  threw  his 
life,  his  fortunes  and  his  honor  into  the  conflict,  the  people  of  Kansas 
were  but  a  handful  of  unorganized  men  with  hostile  Indians  on  the 
west  and  more  hostile  white  men  on  the  east./  This  seems  strange 
language  now  ;  but  previously  to  Lane's  enlistment  in  the  cause  an 
enactment  had  been  placed  upon  our  statute  books  by  invaders  of 
our  country  warranting  this  declaration,  and  the  public  sentiment  of 
our  oppressors  more  than  sustained  it  ;n  barbarity. 

"Man  proposes  and  God  disposes"  truly.     The  gift  of  prophecy 
never  gave  to  the  pioneers  of  Kansas  a  twinkle  of  light  upon  what 
wasto  corne^  No  human  being  had  predicted  the  results  nor  fore- 
seen The  outcome— djie  bravest  struggle  and  the  grandejjt_^tgome/jn  _ 
the  history  of  the  world. 

My  opportunities  in  forty-two  years  of  Kansas  life  have  brought  to 
me  quite  a  number  of  solicitations  to  write  on  the  occurrences  of  that 
period  ;  and  among  them  I  venture  to  quote  from  two  characteristic 
but  antagonistic  great  men :  one,  Rev.  SAMUEL  ORCOTT,  of  New  Ha- 
ven ;  the  other,  Hon.  JAMES  N.  BURKES,  of  St.  Joseph,  Mo. — the  Con- 
necticut historian  and  divine  and  the  Missouri  statesman,  written 
when  I  was  engaged  on  the  Kansas  Biographical  Dictionary.  Mr. 
Orrcott  says : 


Till 


PREFACE. 


NEW  HAVBN,  CONN.,  Aug.  11,  1879. 

MR.  J.  SPEER — Dear  Sir :  ...  I  like  the  appearance  of 
the  sheets  you  have  sent  me.  The  whole  appearance  of  your  work  is 
agreeable  and  pleasing.  .  .  I  have  no  objection  to  the  work, 
and  like  it  very  much,  except  John  Brown's  picture,  in  which  the  true 
character  is  gone,  as  to  my  thinking.  The  article  as  a  whole  is  per 
feet — the  medal  picture  fitting  most  charmingly.  .  .  I  should 
be  glad  to  commend  you  to  any  fair  opportunity  to  do  something 
more  for  humanity  and  the  future.  I  have  not  seen  a  history  of 
Kansas.  If  there  is  none  full  and  complete,  you  would  do  well  to  go 
at  it.  No  history  of  a  Western  State  would  sell  in  the  East  like  that, 
in  my  judgment.  Is  not  now  the  time  ?  Connect  the  leading  fami- 
lies with  jtheir  ancestors ;  fill  it  out  carefully  with  historical  notes 
and  the  like,  and  you  would  be  in  time,  if  there  is  no  historical  work 
on  that  State.  Very  truly,  SAMUEL  OROOTT. 

Col.  BURNES,  in  a  very  complimentary  letter  in  regard  to  Kansas 
and  Missouri  history,  dated  December  6,  1877,  said : 

Having  taken  the  liberty  of  saying  this  much,  I  feel  that  it  will  not 
be  considered  impertinent  for  me  to  add,  that  a  book  of  anecdotes 
and  incidents  in  the  life  you  have  lived,  bearing  upon  the  social  and 
private  life  of  the  public  men  of  the  border,  laughable,  ridiculous, 
non-partisan — just  such  stories  as  you  can  tell  in  asocial  way  ALL  DAY 
LONG — will  give  you  such  pecuniary  rewards  as  make  book-writing  a 
success.  Your  idea  may  be  far  better  than  mine ;  but  I  thought  it 
might  not  be  hurtful  to  have  you  think  the  matter  over  carefully,  as 
to  the  elements  and  character  of  your  book.  The  world  is  not  inter- 
ested much  in  any  of  the  men,  great  or  small,  who  have  "  flourished 
or  faded"  in  our  two  States;  but  it  is  always  interested  in  a  good 
story,  and  will  buy  tickets  liberally  in  a  lottery  of 


V  ;  ! 


In  the  present  effort  I  am  taking  the  advice  of  neither  of  these  dis- 
tinguished men ;  and  only  quote  to  show  some  of  the  incentives  to 
write.  I  am  attempting  what  I  conceive  to  be  justice  to  a  great  man 
with  many  eccentricities.  I  once  met  a  negro  emancipated  by  Lane's 
command,  and  asked  him  how  he  came  to  be  free.  His  quick  response 
was:  "  God  sent  Jim  Lane  and  his  army  for  me — I  don't  care  what 
anybody  says."  This  faith  of  the  poor  slave  differed  very  little  from 
Grant's:  "Man  proposes  and  God  disposes."  If  no  other  good  re- 
sulted from  the  Mexican  War,  which  was  man's  "proposal"  for  sla- 
very extension,  than  the  raising  up  of  Jim  Lane,  as  he  called  himself, 
as  a  "Crusader  of  Freedom,"  the  whole  civilized  world  now  prays, 
"  The  Lord's  will  be  done."  JOHN  SPEER. 


LIFE  OF  GEN.  JAMES  H.  LANE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BIRTH,    PARENTAGE    AND    EARLY    CAREER. 

In  attempting  a  sketch  of  this  remarkable  man,  we 
must  remember  the  circumstances  and  conditions  of  the 
period  in  which  he  acted.  Born  at  Lawrenceburgh,  In- 
diana, June  22,  1814,  his  very  birth  was  in  the  midst  of 
the  excitements  and  demoralization  following  the  War 
of  1812.  The  first  sounds  upon  his  infant  ear  were  the 
shouts  and  revelry  of  the  rude  Hoosiers  and  wilder  Ken- 
tuckians  cheering  and  drinking  in  honor  of  the  Battle  of 
New  Orleans  and  in  congratulations  over  the  Treaty  of 
Ghent.  lAnd  yet  this  man,  the  child  of  the  frontier  of 
civilization,  the  advance  herald  of  two  wars,  the  leader 
in  the  Kansas  Conflict  against  Slavery,  was  one  of  the 
most  abstemious  men  I  ever  saw/  So  remarkable  was 
this  as  a  characteristic,  that,  in  speaking  of  it  to  his 
daughter,  she  expressed  surprise  at  the  idea  that  he  ever 
partook  of  liquor  at  all. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  have  spent  a  portion  of  my  life 
(in  1842)  at  Corydon,  Indiana,  the  capital  of  that  State 
from  1816  till  1824,  and  to  learn  much  by  tradition  of 
his  parentage,  where  his  parents  spent  much  of  their 


10  ANCESTRY. 

time  after  the  admission  of  Indiana  as  a  State  in  1816. 
The  father,  Hon.  Amos  Lane,  was  the  first  Speaker  of 
the  Indiana  House  of  Representatives,  and  was  after- 
wards a  Judge  and  a  member  of  Congress  ;  and,  at  that 
time,  anecdotes  were  almost  as  numerous  and  unique  as 
those  of  the  son  in  the  pioneer  days  of  Kansas.  Many 
persons  were  there  then  living  who  had  intimately  known 
both  the  parents.  The  father  had  the  reputation  of  the 
trickiness  of  the  wily  politician,  and  the  mother  that  of  a 
lady  eminent  for  piety,  amiability,  charity  and  every 
womanly  virtue — a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church ;  and  both  these  attributes  of  character  were 
brought  to  Kansas  where  the  first  marked  Methodist  em- 
igration settled ;  and  at  no  place  were  Lane's  triumphs 
of  oratory  and  political  success  greater  than  at  Baldwin 
City  among  that  good  people.  The  father  was  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent — the  mother  of  New  England  Puritanical 
stock.  She  was  descended  from  the  Foote  family  of 
Connecticut,  one  of  whom  was  Governor  of  that  State 
and  United  States  Senator — a  family  distinguished  in  its 
State  history.  But  little  seems  to  be  known  of  the  an- 
cestors on  the  paternal  side  beyond  the  father,  Amos 
Lane;  but  the  parents  were  married  at  Ogdensburgh, 
New  York ;  and  Gen.  Lane's  daughter,  Annie,  now 
Mrs.  D.  A.  Johnson,  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  frequently 
visits  the  Connecticut  kindred,  and  informs  me  that  the 
old  house  in  which  her  grandparents  were  married  is 
still  standing  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  where  she 
has  been  shown  the  room  in  which  the  ceremony  was 


A  MOTHER'S  INFLUENCE.  11 

performed.  Gen.  Lane  himself  gave  me  all  I  know  of 
his  father's  nationality.  Talking  with  Lane  once,  on 
politics,  I  happened  to  tell  him  I  got  my  first  practical 
ideas  on  political  organization  from  Newton  Gunn,  a 
trusted,  earnest  friend  and  compeer  of  Thurlow  Weed. 
"Newton  Gunn  I  Where  did  you  know  Newton 
Gunn?  He  was  my  cousin."  I  found  that  he  and 
Newton  Gunn,  a  Connecticut  youth,  had  been  fellow 
clerks  in  the  store  of  Judge  Geer,  of  Ithaca,  New  York, 
and  that  from  such  sources  he  had  gotten  much  informa- 
tion. Contrary  to  general  belief,  he  had  various  oppor- 
tunities for  culture  among  eminent  men,  though  his 
education  had  been  limited  to  common  schools.  But  his 
mother  was  a  woman  of  culture.  Connecticut  was  famous 
for  its  advancement  in  education  many  years  before  she 
was  born,  and  she  had  all  its  advantages  in  some  of  ita 
most  advanced  schools  for  female  education.  In  that 
rude  settlement  in  Indiana,  she  took  to  her  own  home  a 
few  of  the  children  of  her  neighbors,  and  taught  school, 
her  own  children  being  a  portion  of  her  pupils,  and  her 
teachings  were  probably  the  most  useful  and  instructive 
of  his  life.  Thurlow  Weed  was  one  of  his  ideals  of  a 
great  man,  and  opportunities  with  such  a  man  we  may 
readily  imagine  would  never  be  lost  on  such  a  pupil. 
Whether  in  the  evolution  of  humanity  these  criss-cross 
characteristics  of  parentage  influenced  the  eccentricities 
or  idiosincrasies  of  the  son,  I  leave  to  scientists  who  may 
read  his  history. 

The  writer  had   further  opportunities  of  knowing  of 


12  SETTLES    IN   KANSAS. 

the  son  in  the  fact  that  he  was  in  Indiana  when  the  Mex- 
ican War  broke  out,  and  passed  through  his  native  town 
when  the  first  news  of  the  victories  of  Palo  Alto  and  Re- 
saca  de  la  Palma  were  received,  and  the  rally  was  on  for 
volunteers,  and  James  H.  Lane  stepped  from  the  multi- 
tude into  the  ranks  as  a  private,  and  was  spontaneously 
proclaimed  the  leader  of  the  regiment,  and  made  colonel 
by  acclamation.  Leading  that  regiment  with  great  ac- 
ceptance, he  not  only  gallantly  led  these  brave  men 
through  all  its  engagements  up  to  the  ensanguinary  Bat- 
tle of  Buena  Vista,  but  rallied  the  demoralized  regiment 
of  Col.  Bowles,  the  latter  retrieving  much  of  their  lost 
honors  under  his  leadership  ;  and  after  the  expiration 
of  the  term  of  this  regiment,  he  returned  to  his  home, 
and  organized  another  regiment,  participating  in  the 
battles  around  the  city  of  Mexico,  honorably  command- 
ing till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  Lieutenant  Gover- 
nor of  Indiana,  Elector-at-Large  and  member  of  Congress. 

With  these  honors,  he  came  to  Kansas.  One  bright 
*  morning  in  April,  1855,  as  he  was  passing  with  his  team 
over  the  hill  where  the  State  University  now  stands,  he 
halted  and  walked  into  the  little  hamlet  now  called  Law- 
rence, named  but  without  a  charter,  carrying  a  jug  to  fill 
with  water  to  pursue  his  journey  westward,  but  meeting 
a  man  named  Edward  Chapman,  who  offered  to  sell  him 
a  "claim,"  he  purchased  and  ended  his  journey. 

He  was  a  Democrat,  and  always  had  been,  with  the 
odium  of  having  voted  in  Congress  for  the  Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill.  That  bill,  the  precursor  of  the  slavery  agi- 


VIEWS    ON    SLAVERY.  13 

tation,  was  considered  by  the  people  among  whom  he 
settled  the  acma  of  pro-slavery  tyranny.  His  democracy 
might  have  been  forgiven  ;  but  the  sin  of  breaking  down 
the  "  Missouri  Compromise  "  and  turning  the  tide  of  sla- 
very northward  through  Kansas,  where  a  considerable 
number  of  slaves  were  already  held,  could  not  be  palli- 
ated. Was  he  a  pro-slavery  man?  The  ultra  abolition 
type  of  agitators  regarded  him  in  that  light.  They  be- 
lieved that  the  whole  democratic  administration  was  sold 
and  delivered  to  slavery.  He  was,  however,  no  more 
pro-slavery  than  Pierce,  Buchanan,  Douglas,  Logan  and 
Grant.  He  believed  in  what  they  all  called  the  "com- 
promises of  the  constitution."  He  was  no  more  a  pro 
slavery  man  than  Henry  Clay,  who  said  he  would  rather 
be  instrumental  in  relieving  his  country  of  the  great 
stain  of  slavery  than  to  be  a  conquering  hero.  He  was 
with  Douglas  in  favor  of  "squatter  sovereignty."  These 
men  only  espoused  anti-slavery  ideas  according  to  the 
advanced  thought  of  Garrison,  Thaddeus  Stevens  and 
Chase  after  slave-holders  arose  in  rebellion  to  sustain 
the  Dred  Scott  decision  that  slavery  was  national  and 
that  slaves  were  property  to  be  taken  all  over  the  Union 
acccording  to  the  volition  of  the  owner.  \Tf  we  ha<fl  Jfo- 
booed  all  men  holding  the  views  of  Lane,  Grant  and 
others,  we  would  have  had  neither  statesmen,  nor  army, 
nor_navy_J  The  sentiment  which  triumphed  grew  out  of 


results ;  but  in    the    very  incipiency   of   the    conspiracy 


against  Kansas,  the  conspirators  laid  down  the  proposi- 
tion that  they  were  neither  Whigs  nor  Democrats,  but  a 


14  WEAK    IN    NUMBERS STRONG    IN    PRINCIPLE. 

distinctive  Pro-Slavery  party.  On  the  other  hand,  Lane, 
Emery,  Goodin  and  others  attempted  to  organize  the 
Democratic  party,  and  were  denounced  as  abolitionists 
and  enemies  of  the  institution  of  slavery.  The  oppo- 
nents of  slavery  met  them  upon  this  ground,  if  they  did 
not  precede  them,  but  that  can  hardly  be  claimed  ;  [for 
the  friends  of  a  Free  State  never  chrystalized  into  a  solid 
party  until  the  Big  Springs  Convention  September  5, 
1855,  when  they  made  provision  for  another  convention 
at  Topeka,  September  19,  1855,  which  appointed  an  Ex- 
^ecutive  Committee  and  called  an  election  for  Delegates  to 
the  Topeka  Constitutional  Convention. 

Still,  the  small  consolidation  at  Lawrence  and  a  few 

other  places,  weak  in  numbers,  butlstrong  in  the  princi- 

/  L0     ' 

pies  of  universal  libertyy  dates  back  further.  The  very 
first  effort  at  the  trial  of  strength  was  November  29, 
1854,  when  the  anti-slavery  men  were  badly  routed,  the 
vote  standing ;  Flenneken,  Democrat,  305 ;  Wakefield, 
Anti-Slavery,  248  ;  Whitfield,  Pro-Slavery, 2, 258,  for  the 
election  of  Delegate  to  Congress.  At  this  election  the 
Pro-Slavery  men  showed  their  determination  to  conquer 
the  new  Territory  by  invasion  and  ballot  stuffing.  The 
first  homocide  occurred  that  day,  when  Davis,  Pro-Sla- 
very, assaulted  Kibbe,  Free-State,  and  by  the  latter  was 
killed  in  self-defense  ;  which  was  the  first  murder  trial 
in  Kansas,  in  preliminary  hearing  before  Judge  Lecompte 
on  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  with  a  view  to  bail.  The  case 
was  never  tried.  It  was  reported  in  full  by  John  Speer 
for  the  Kansas  Tribune  and  Free  State. 


THE    CON7FLICT    INAUGURATED.  15 

The  next  contest  was  March  30,  1855,  when  one  thou- 
sand men  from  Missouri  and  other  States,  with  guns,  re- 
volvers and  a  cannon,  boldly  camped  at  Lawrence  the 
evening  before  the  election,  and  marshalled  a  portion  of 
them  for  other  points,  besides  having  other  bands  enter 
the  Territory  at  Kickapoo,  Le'aven worth,  Atchison  and 
elsewhere.  It  was  the  boldest,  wickedest  assault  upon 
the  ballot-box  ever  made  in  a  country  pretending  to  pop- 
ular suffrage.  The  selection  of  a  Pro-Slavery  legislature 
succeeded  this  outrage,  and  laws  were  passed  rendering 
a  fair  election  an  impossibility.  Practically  all  oppo- 
nents of  slavery  were  disfranchised. 
(.This  outrage,  however,  aroused  a  spirit  of  resistance 
that  finally  became  unconquerable/  But,  to  avoid  blood- 
shed, a  general  determination  was  evolved  to  hold  an 
election  for  Delegate  to  Congress  on  a  separate  day  from 
that  selected  by  what  was  denounced  as  the  "bogus 
Legislature."  But  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  work  to 
go  into  historical  incidents  beyond  what  is  necessary  to 
elucidate  the  character  on  whom  we  are  writing.  The 
history  of  the  Legislature  thus  imposed  upon  the  people 
was  characterized  by  an  infamy  unparalleled  by  any 
other  in  the  annals  of  the  Republic.  The  worst  charac- 
ters in  the  slaveholding  oligarchy  had  failed  to  make 
precedents  severe  enough  to  satisfy  the  vengeance  of 
these  usurpers  for  punishments  against  the  ' '  abolition- 
ists, "|and__they  made  the  mere  declaration  of  opinion 
that  "slavery  does  not  legally  exist  in  this  Territory]'  a 
penalty  of  not  less  than  two  years  in  the  penitentiary, 


16  ESPOUSES    FREE-STATE    PRINCIPLES. 

orjeeding  jO-jnaari  whom  they  declared  to 


be  a  slave  was 


With  all  this,  however,  Gen.  Lane  had  nothing  to  do. 
He  had  thus  far  been  quiescent  ,"^xcept.in.a  futilejatle  nipt 
to  organize  the  Democratic  party.  Vl£j£a§_in  the  initia- 
tory effort  tojresis.t  this  tyranny,  that  he  literally  broke 
loose  in  all  his  power,  fury  and  energy.  Thence  onward 
he  was  indomitable  and  unconquerable^! 


CHAPTER  II. 

REPEAL     OF     MISSOURI     COMPROMISE EXCITEMENT     OVER 

SLAVERY OUTRAGES    ON    SETTLERS. 

The  original  provocation  for  conflict  was  in  what  was 
known  as  the  repeal  of  the  "Missouri  Compromise," 
embraced  in  the  act  ' '  to  organize  the  Territories  of  Ne- 
braska and  Kansas,"  which  became  a  law  by  the  signa- 
ture of  President  Pierce  May  30,  1854.  This  act  repealed 
the  law  which  "  forever  prohibited"  slavery  "north  of 
thirty  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  not  in- 
cluded within  the  limits  of  the  State  ' '  of  Missouri,  in 
what  was  known  as  the  "  Louisiana  Purchase,"  acquired 
under  the  administration  of  President  Jefferson  in  1804. 

Tnat  compromise  law  had  been  considered  a  sacred 
compact  between  the  North  and  the  South  for  a  third  of 
a  century,  the  preserver  of  peace  between  the  slave-  and 
free  States. 

I  This  action  renewed  all  the  hostilities  that  ever  existed 
between  the  slave-  and  non-slaveholding  States,  and 
opened  up  a  contest  for  supremacy  which  eventually  re- 
sulted in  the  \var  and  the  ej^tj.n3jajinih^ 
[and  threw  the  whole  burthen  of  the  conflict  upon  the  set- 
tle ra  of  Kansas,  j 


18  AGGRESSIONS    OF    SLAVERY. 

The  animosities  were  aroused  from  the  introduction  of 
the  bill.  The  theory  of  Senator  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  the 
author  of  the  bill,  was  in  the  right  of  the  people  to  "  reg- 
ulate their  own  domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way," 
and  the  friends  of  the  measure  attempted  to  popularize  it 
as  "  squatter  sovereignty,"  but  the  ghost  of  slavery  was 
too  transparent.  Mr.  Douglas'  first  bill  was  to  organize 
the  Territory  of  Nebraska;  but  at  the  next  session,  he 
modified  his  measure  by  the  act  to  organize  the  Territo- 
ries of  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  in  hopes  that  the  idea  of 
one  slave-  and  one  free  State  would  conciliate  the  excite- 
ment. \The  result  is  written  in  history,  and  speaks  from 
the  graves  of  the  martyrs  of  the  greatest  war  the  world 
ever  sawj  \Tlie  Northern  emigrants  to  Kansas  met  the 
aggressions  of  slavery  at  every  step.  They  were  boldly 
told  that  "  the  abolitionists  MIGHT  take  Nebraska,  but  if 
they  got  Kansas,  they  would  have  to  fight  for  it;  and 
most  emphatically  they  carried  out  their  threats.  The 
best  "claims"  were  staked  out  and  marked  with  the 
names  of  pro-slavery  men,  many  of  whom  had  never  seen 
the  land.  My  first  night's  experience  will  illustrate  the 
situation.  Six  of  us  Northern  men  slept  upon  the  prai- 
ries. We  were  aroused  by  the  yells  of  a  pro-slavery  man, 
as  distinct  and  definable  as  the  rebel  yell  became  after- 
ward. My  comrades  suggested,  as  I  was  a  Western  man, 
that  I  should  do  the  talking.  I  hailed  from  Kentucky, 
where  I  had  once  lived.  He  greeted  me  with  gladness, 
and  informed  me  that  "  too  many  infernal  abolitionists 
are  getting  into  the  country,  and  for  my  part,  I  am  for 


THE    TRYING    HOUR.  19 

tarring  and  feathering  and  gutting  and  hanging  and 
drowning  the  scoundrels  till  not  an  abolition  thief  shall 
be  found  in  Kansas!"  Congratulating  my  Kentucky 
friend  on  his  levelheadedness,  he  departed.  Long  after, 
I  met  him  as  a  Union  man,  and  a  jolly  good  fellow  he  was. 

The  trying  hour  came  in  the  election  of  March  30, 
1855,  for  members  of  the  Territorial  Legislature,  when 
1,000  men  invaded  the  polls  at  Lawrence,  principally 
from  Missouri,  but  with  no  inconsiderable  portion  from 
other  slave  States.  This  was  the  main  central  object  of 
the  invasion ,  but  they  came  in  sufficient  number  to  over- 
throw the  legal  vote  at  Leavenworth,  Atchison,  Kickapoo, 
and  in  fact  all  along  the  border,  while  no  part  of  the 
settled  interior  was  neglected.  It  was  an  invasion  with 
arms  and  all  the  munitions  of  war,  with  a  cannon  for  the 
emergency  of  having  to  batter  down  a  log  house  occupied 
for  a  polling  place  ;  and  they  did,  indeed,  upset  a  house 
and  capture  the  judges  at  Clinton,  having  detailed  two 
or  three  hundred  men  from  Lawrence  for  that  purpose. 

Gov.  Reeder,  though  appointed  by  President  Pierce, 
whose  every  act  had  been  to  establish  slavery,  was  a  man 
of  honest  purposes  and  did  all  he  could  to  right  the 
wrong  by  throwing  out  illegal  returns,  and  proclaiming  a 
new  election  to  fill  vacancies  thereby  created  ;  but  there 
not  being  enough  thrown  out  to  give  the  Free-State  mem- 
bers a  majority  in  either  branch,  the  Pro-Slavery  men 
did  not  go  to  the  trouble  or  expense  of  a  second  invasion 
and  ballot  usurpation,  and  the  Legislature  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  the  legal  election,  but  summarily  ousted  all  the 


20  FREE-STATE    MEN    ALL    OUSTED. 

members  elected  at  the  second  election  and  seated  the 
members  in  both  houses  previously  declared  by  the  Gov- 
ernor not  to  have  been  elected  at  all.  Martin  F.  Con- 
way,  a  Free-State  man,  clearly  elected  a  member  of  the 
Council,  addressed  a  letter  to  that  body  denouncing  it  as 
constituted  by  fraud,  and  refused  to  act  with  it.  S.  D. 
Houston,  a  Free-State  member  of  the  House  also  uncon- 
tested, remained  in  the  House  but  a  short  time,  when  he 
withdrew  in  disgust  and  contempt,  denouncing  them  as 
usurpers  and  tyrants.  This  left  both  bodies  unani- 
mously pro-slavery ;  and  they  gave  to  the  Territory  a 
code  of  laws  which  had  no  parallel  for  infamy  in  the  his- 
tory of  American  civilization . 

The  causes  which  led  up  to  the  war  are  too  little  un- 
d,er§tQod.  The  sufferings  and  trials  of  the  pioneers  in 
the  anti-slavery  cause  in  Kansas  can  hardly  be  realized 
in  the  present  period  of  comparative  comfort  and  ease ; 
yet  they  enjoyed  the  excitements,  laughed  at  their 
calamaties,  and  rejoiced  in_their_aucc.esses..J 

A  single  section  of  "An  act  to  punish  offenses  against 
slave  property,"  (Statutes  of  Kansas  Territory,  1855, 

page  117,  section  12,)  will  suffice  as  a  specimen  : 

SEC.  12.  If  any  free  person,  by  speaking  or  by  writing,  assert  or 
maintain  that  persons  have  not  the  right  to  hold  slaves  in  this  Terri- 
tory, or  shall  introduce  into  this  Territory,  print,  publish,  write, 
circulate  or  cause  to  be  introduced  into  this  Territory,  wri  tten,  print- 
ed, published,  or  circulated  in  this  Territory,  any  book,  paper,  maga- 
zine, pamphlet  or  circular,  containing  any  denial  of  the  right  of  persons 
to  hold  slaves  in  this  Territory,  such  person  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of 
felony,  and  punished  by  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  for  a  term  of  not 
less  than  two  years. 


THE    ACMA    OF    TYRANNY.  21 

Three  of  the  sections  of  this  infamous  enactment  pre- 
scribe death  for  their  violation  ;  three  imprisonment  for 
not  less  than  ten  years, or  death  at  the  discretion  of  the 
jury ;  three  imprisonment  for  not  less  than  five  years ; 
two  imprisonment  for  not  less  than  two  years. 

No  enactment  so  severe  had  found  its  way  into  any 
of  the  American  slave  States.  These  statesmen  had  one 
merit— originality  in  barbarity.  Under  a  jury  of  slave- 
holders, it  might  have  been  as  bloody  as  the  code  of 
Draco. 

With  these  aggravations,  would  it  be  wonderful  if  the 
victims  of  such  laws  should  feel  the  spirit  of  revenge? 

With  all  this,  the  Kansas  troops  were  as  humane  as 
any  body  of  similar  troops  that  ever  entered  the  army. 
They  never  sought  Kansas  for  other  than  honorable  pur- 
poses, and  to  them  the  field  of  battle  was  the  field  of 
honor. 

The  organization  of  the  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  So- 
ciety, while  peaceful  and  patriotic  in  its  purposes,  was 
made  the  pretext  for  more  outrage  upon  the  people  from 
the  slavery  propogandists  than  against  all  other  classes 
and  combinations.  It  was  the  theme  of  denunciation  in 
every  campaign,  and  pro-slavery  men  traversed  the  Ter- 
ritory justifying  all  their  aggressions,  invasions  and  mur- 
ders, on  the  ground  that  that  company  had  invaded  the 
rights  of  the  slave  States.  It  helped  the  country  finan- 
cially ;  it  aided  the  immigration  by  securing  cheaper 
transportation  both  for  passengers  and  freight ;  it  built 
mills,  hotels,  schools  and  churches;  and  it  is  safe  to  say 


22  THE    EMIGRANT-AID    SOCIETY. 

provoked  many  quarrels  and  brought  unjust  accusations 
against  the  people  of  colonizing  men  from  the  East  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  voting,  which  was  by  no  means  its 
object.  There  might  have  been  isolated  cases  of  men 
who  availed  themselves  of  its  advantages  for  corruption 
only,  but  its  purposes  were  humane  and  honorable. 

The  Aid  Society  wera  not  long  in  realizing  the  danger 
of  such  antagonism  to  their  property ;  for  when  they 
built  the  original  stone  building  generally  called  the  Free 
State  Hotel,  but  changed  to  the  Eldridge  House  by  Col. 
Eldridge,  they  raised  the  walls  above  the  roof  and  made 
portholes  in  it  as  in  blockhouses.  The  walls  were  built 
by  placing  boxes  above  the  work  and  filling  them  with 
stone,  something  like  concrete,  except  larger  stone.  The 
roof  was  as  near  flat  as  consistent  with  good  watershed, 
and  the  walls  projected  above  the  roof.  In  the  walls 
were  placed  boxes  as  if  for  molding  sunk  into  the  wall 
within  about  two  inches  of  the  outer  surface,  covered 
with  mortar  to  hide  the  outside  view  ;  but  the  butt  of  a 
gun  could  instantly  knock  it  out,  and  armed  men  would 
thus  be  ready  for  defense,  either  by  firing  through  these 
holes  or  over  the  walls. 

This  building  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Ben.  Johnson, 
who  erected  the  house : 

OTTAWA,  KANSAS,  October  21,  1894. 

FRIEND  SPEER:  I  received  a  line  from  you  asking  about  the  walls  of 
the  Free-State  Hotel.  The  building  was  fifty  by  eighty  feet,  four 
stories  high.  The  basement  walls  were  two  feet  thick ;  first  story 
twenty  inches ;  the  balance  eighteen  inches  thick.  The  parapet  walls 
in  front  above  the  roof  were  two  feet,  running  bevel  all  around  the 


PORTHOLES    AND    SHARP'S    RIFLES.  23 

building,  making  the  sides  and  rear  from  two  to  six  feet  high,  with 
portholes  six  feet  apart,  sixteen  inches  large  on  the  inside,  and  four 
inches  on  the  outside,  mortared  over  to  prevent  observation  from 
without  side.  Shape  of  opening:  B.JOHNSON. 


"While  this  house  was  going  up,  just  following  the  elec- 
tion outrages  of  March  30,  the  Aid  Society  representa- 
tives, as  individuals,  and  others  sent  Geo.  W.  Deitzler 
(afterwards  more  famously  known  as  Gen.  Deitzler)  to 
Boston  for  Sharp's  rifles,  and  he  returned  under  the  as- 
sumed name  of  Crocker  up  the  Missouri  on  the  steamer 
Vienna,  and  up  the  Kansas  on  the  Emma  Harmon,  and 
it  began  to  dawn  upon  the  Puritan  that  he  must  not  only 
"  trust  in  God,  but  keep  his  powder  dry." 

Whether  these  "  parapets  "  and  "  portholes  "  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  causing  the  following  indictment  in 
1856,  is  submitted  to  show  how  hard  it  was  for  Free- 
State  men  to  build  anything  to  advance  civilization 
without  encountering  the  direst  enmity  of  the  slavehold- 
ing  oligarchy  and  its  adherents  : 

The  Grand  Jury  sitting  for  the  adjourned  term  of  the  First  District 
Court,  in  and  for  the  county  of  Douglas,  in  the  Territory  of  Kansas, 
beg  leave  to  report  to  the  honorable  court,  that,  from  evidence  laid 
before  them  showing  that  the  newspaper  known  as  the  Herald  of 
Freedom,  published  at  the  town  of  Lawrence,  has  from  time  to  time 
issued  publications  of  the  most  inflammatory  and  seditious  character, 
denying  the  legality  of  the  Territorial  authorities,  advising  and  com- 
mending forcible  resistance  to  the  same;  demoralizing  the  popular 
mind,  and  rendering  life  and  property  unsafe,  even  to  the  extent  of 
tdvising  assassination  as  the  last  resort. 


24  AN    INFAMOUS    INDICTMENT. 

Also,  that  the  paper  known  as  the  Kansas  Free  State  has  been  simi- 
larly engaged,  and  has  recently  reported  the  resolutions  of  a  public 
meeting  in  Johnson  county,  in  this  Territory,  in  which  resistance  to 
the  Territorial  laws,  even  unto  blood,  has  been  agreed  upon.  And 
that  we  respectfully  recommend  their  abatement  as  a  nuisance. 

Also,  that  we  are  satisfied  that  the  building  known  as  the  Free-State 
Hotel,  in  Lawrence,  has  been  constructed  with  the  view  to  military 
occupation  and  defense,  regularly  parapeted  and  portholed  for  the  use 
of  cannon  and  small  arms,  and  could  only  have  been  designed  as  a 
stronghold  of  resistance  to  law,  thereby  endangering  the  public  safety 
and  encouraging  rebellion  and  sedition  in  this  country  ;  and  respect- 
fully recommend  that  steps  be  taken  whereby  this  nuisance  may  be 
removed. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  "  provoking  "   causes, 

the  worst  speech  ever  made ,  considering  its  source ,  and 
the  occasion,  threatening  murder,  rapine,  arson,  and  all 
their  concomitant  evils,  was  that  made  by  David  R.  At- 
chison,  Acting  Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  as  he 
nerved  the  ruffians  to  the  assault  upon  Lawrence,  in  con- 
formity to  that  indictment : 

Boys,  this  day  I  am  a  Kickapoo  Ranger,  by  God  !  This  day  we  have 
entered  Lawrence  with  "Southern  Rights"  inscribed  upon  our  ban- 
ner, and  not  one  damned  abolitionist  dared  to  fire  a  gun.  Now,  boys, 
this  is  the  happiest  day  of  my  life.  We  have  entered  that  damned 
town,  and  taught  the  damned  abolitionists  a  Southern  lesson  that  they 
will  remember  till  the  day  they  die.  And  now,  boys,  we  will  go  again, 
with  our  highly  honorable  Jones,  and  test  the  strength  of  that  damned 
Free-State  Hotel,  and  teach  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company  that  Kansas 
shall  be  ours.  Boys,  ladies  should,  and  I  hope  will,  be  respected  by 
every  gentleman.  But  when  a  woman  takes  upon  herself  the  garb  of 
a  soldier  by  carrying  a  Sharp's  rifle,  then  she  is  no  longer  worthy  of 
respect.  Trample  her  under  your  feet  as  you  would  a  snake.  Come 
on,  boys.  Now  do  your  duty  to  yourselves  and  your  Southern  friends. 
Your  duty  I  know  you  will  do.  If  one  man  or  woman  dare  stand  be- 
fore you,  blow  them  to  hell  with  a  chunk  of  cold  lead. 


A  VICE  PRESIDENT'S  BAD  EYE  FOR  SHOOTING.       25 

Terrible  destruction  followed  this  outburst  of  demoniac 
profanity  ;  and  the  best  apology  that  could  possibly  have 
been  offered  for  the  Vice  President  is  inferentially  in  the 
statement  that  when  he  sighted  and  fired  the  first  gun  at 
the  offending  hotel,  eighty  feet  wide  and  four  stories 
high,  he  missed  the  building!  The  hotel,  the  printing 
offices,  Gov.  Robinson's  house  and  much  other  prop- 
erty went  up  in  flames,  and  many  of  the  stores  were 
robbed. 

What  the  Emigrant-Aid  Society  did  mainly  to  pro- 
mote emigration,  was  to  establish  agencies  at  different 
points,  which  were  advertised  to  furnish  cheap  rates  of 
transportation  for  passengers  and  freight,  in  numbers 
and  amounts  so  great  as  to  be  an  inducement  to  steam- 
boats and  railroads  to  make  important  reductions ;  and 
the  agents  were  all  instructed  to  sell  to  customers  with- 
out regard  to  politics,  though  generally  they  were  at 
points  where  the  bulk  of  their  business  would  come  from 
the  non-slaveholding  States,  and  incidentally  contributed 
to  Free-State  sentiment  in  Kansas. 

But  these  cheap  rates  attracted  some  Pro-Slavery  men, 
who  either  knew  nothing  or  cared  nothing  about  who 
sold,  so  that  they  got  their  tickets  cheap.  An  amusing 
case  of  this  kind  of  mistaken  identity  occurred  in  1857, 
When  Robert  J.  Walker,  the  newly-appointed  Pro-Sla- 
very Governor  from  Mississippi,  came  to  Kansas  with  a 
retinue  of  followers.  By  some  means  unknown  to  com- 
mon mortals  to  this  day,  some  of  the  party  stumbled  into 
the  steamboat  agency  of  Simmons  &  Leadbetter,  the  Aid 


26     THE  MAIDEN  UNDER  THE  ORANGE  TREES. 

Society's  agents  at  St.  Louis.  The  shrewd  Yankee  at 
the  desk  saw  his  opportunity  in  the  distinguished  list  of 
travellers,  and  probably  lost  money  on  the  sale  ;  at  any- 
rate,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  state,  he  sold  them  all 
tickets  as  low  as  he  could  and  avoid  suspicion  of  having 
come  by  them  dishonestly.  About  that  time,  Col.  D.  R. 
Anthony— of  whom  some  people  have  heard  since — hap- 
pened along,  but  whether  he  had  anything  to  do  with 
"setting  up  a  job  "on  them,  has  never  come  down  even 
by  tradition  to  the  present  posterity.  With  this  party 
,  came  a  most  distinguished  orator  of  the  spread-eagle 
variety,  Hon.  0.  E.  Perrin,  who  became  more  distin- 
guished laterrboth  in  Kansas  and  New  York.  He  came 
to  sustain  "  the  guarantees  of  the  constitution,"  the  ad- 
ministration of  James  Buchanan,  show  the  beauties  of 
the  organic  act,  the  justice  of  letting  slaveholders  bring 
their  "chatties"  into  the  new  Paradise,  and  the  iniquity 
of  tolerating  the  Emigrant-Aid  Society.  Bills  were  dis- 
tributed for  a  complete  circuit  of  the  Territory,  and  his 
appointments  all  filled.  The  persuasive  eloquence  of 
that  genius  of  slave-propogandism,  in  his  appeals  to  the 
young  men  in  behalf  of  "the  beautiful  maidens  of  the 
sunny  South,"  and  the  "enchantments  of  that  lovely 
vision  as  the  maiden  sat  under  the  orange  tree,  bring- 
ing sweet  music  from  her  harp, "  had  never  struck  the 
ear  of  the  rude  immigrants  from  the  sterile  North  as  it 
did  from  the  lips  of  that  grandiloquent  orator ;  but  his 
eulogy  of  the  Southern  maiden  and  Southern  institutions 
was  peurility  compared  with  the  withering  scorn,  con- 


PAUPERS    AND    NEGRO-THIEVES.  27 

tempt  and  indignation  with  which  he  hurled  his  anath- 
emas against  the  ' '  infamous  Emigrant-Aid  Society  and 
the  groveling  paupers  and  negro-thieves  with  whom  it 
was  attempting  to  pollute  the  virgin  soil  of  the  fairest 
patrimony  of  the  American  people."  His  circuit  of  the 
State  ended  up  at  the  Osawkee  land  sales,  where  all 
classes  of  people  were  attracted  by  that  great  auction  of 
the  Delaware  Trust  Lands.  The  Northern  people,  mainly 
the  Free-State  people,  had  become  strong  in  number  and 
stronger  in  resolution  ;  and  as  that  was  a  general  assem- 
bly of  the  people,  demanded  the  right  to  be  heard  on 
equal  terms,  and  a  joint  or  general  debate  was  reluc- 
tantly agreed  upon,  with  the  despised  "abolitionists." 
Joseph  L.  Speer  had  just  then  driven  two  yoke  of  oxen 
up  from  Lawrence  with  a  load  of  lumber,  and  located  at 
a  spring  near  the  edge  of  the  embryo  village  ;  and  he 
lariated  his  oxen,  laid  down  his  big  whip,  and  proposed 
to  take  a  tilt  in  the  general  discussion.  He  got  on  the 
list  ahead  of  Perrin  ;  but  the  Pro-Slavery  men  were  wild 
to  hear  the  great  orator  of  Kansas,  the  demolisher  of  aid 
societies  and  paupers,  and  their  voices  were  vociferous 
for  "  Perrm  !  Perrin  !"  but  the  Free-State  men's  ire  was 
up,  and  revolvers  bristled  in  the  evening  air  and  moon- 
shine, while  Perrin  said  he  only  wanted  to  speak  ten 
minutes.  That  just  suited  Joe — in  fact,  he  preferred  it 
— because  it  gave  Perrin  an  opportunity  to  annihilate 
the  aid  society,  and  Joe  was  "loaded  for  bear" — loaded 
by  D.  R.  Anthony ;  and  he  arose  and  requested  the  aud- 
ience to  listen  to  Mr.  Perrin,  on  the  assurance  that  he 


28  TERfclFIC    OX    AID    SOCIETY 

should  have  his  rights  in  ten  minutes.  Perrin  dropped 
into  the  pitfall,  and  his  denunciations  of  the  Emigrant- 
Aid  Society  were  so  bitter  and  malignant  that  he  forgot 
all  about  the  "maidens  with  their  harps  under  the 
orange  trees."  He  told  his  friends  before  he  went  in, 
tli at  with  that  audience,  he  thought  he  could  make  the 
great  effort  of  his  life  that  night;  and,  as  he  went  on, 
on,  for  more  than  an  hour,  the  cheers  and  yells  of  sla- 
very triumphant  nerved  him  till  great  drops  of  perspi- 
ration rolled  down  his  classic  cheeks. 

The  orator  retired  in  triumph,  and  went  into  the  hotel 
from  the  steps  of  which  he  had  so  successfully  vindicated 
the  slavery  cause,  to  receive  the  congratulations  of  the 
chivalry — perhaps  in  liquid  potations.  Speer  followed 
mildly,  regretting  his  inability  to  compete  with  the  dis- 
tinguished leader  of  the  opposition,  but  in  great  candor 
confessing  that  in  his  denunciations  of  the  Emigrant- Aid 
Society  he  was  compelled  from  indubitable  evidence  in 
his  possession  to  agree  with  him.  He  had  been  able  to 
find  his  own  way  to  Kansas,  and  pay  his  own  fare  with- 
out aid  from  any  corporation,  and  he  believed  that  was 
the  more  independent  way.  His  attention  had  not  orig- 
inaliy  been  called  to  the  deleterious  character  of  that 
institution,  but  in  the  changes  of  his  mind  he  was  not 
wholly  influenced  by  the  arguments,  eloquent  as  they 
were,  of  the  gentlemen  who  had  preceded  him.  He  had 
made  some  discoveries  himself  which  he  would  read. 
He  had  extracts  from  the  books  of  Simmons  <fe  Leadbet- 
ter,  the  agents  of  that  abolition  institution  at  St.  Louis, 


DAMAGING    STEAMBOAT    TICKETS.  29 

the  authenticity  of  which  could  not  be  disputed,  showing 
the  character  of  the  men  whom  it  was  sending  among  us. 
(Then  he  gave  the  page  and  number  of  the  book  to  which 
he  referred:)  "'Hon.  Robert  J.  Walker.'  Now," 
said  Speer,  continuing,  "  we  have  had  enough  of  these 
Pro-Slavery  Governors  foisted  upon  us  without  any  aid 
from  that  Society.  If  that  institution  was  bringing  in 
Pro-Slavery  Governors  faster  than  they  could  run  away, 
you  and  I  and  all  of  us,  fellow-citizens,  will  join  Mr. 
Perrin  and  all  good  men  in  removing  that  nuisance  from 
our  midst.  [Laughter,  cheers  and  shouts  of  applause.] 
Now,  hear:  'Frederick  P.  Stanton!'  [Cheers.]  This 
is  the  new  Secretary  of  the  Territory,  whose  first  decla- 
ration was  that  the  tyrannical  Pro-Slavery  laws  passed 
by  the  invaders,  making  it  a  penalty  of  two  years  in  the 
penitentiary  to  deny  their  validity,  must  be  obeyed  ;  and 
if  not,  it  was  war  to  the  knife,  and  the  knife  to  the  hilt ! 
Could  anything  be  more  damnable  than  that?"  And  on 
he  went  through  the  whole  list,  all  Pro-Slavery,  severe 
in  his  ironical  castigations  of  the  Society.  "  Now, "  said 
he, ' '  I  come  to  the  climax  of  infamy  :  '  0.  E.  Perrin  and 
servant  ! '  It  was  bad  enough  to  bring  that  great  orator 
and  enemy  of  free  institutions  to  Kansas ;  but ,  if  this 
servant  was  a  negro  and  a  slave,  and  this  Society  is 
planting  the  oppressor  and  his  slave  upon  our  soil,  no 
curse  can  be  too  severe  upon  its  character  !"  The  shouts 
which  followed  this  induced  some  slavery  advocate  to  re- 
port to  Perrin,  in  the  hotel,  to  which  he  had  retired,  and 
he  rushed  out,  vengeance  in  his  eye,  exclaiming,  "  I  am 


30  E.    O.    PERRIN    AND    SERVANT. 

told  the  speaker  has  assaulted  me  personally,  and  I  de- 
mand apology!"  Speer's  reply  was:  "0,  no;  on  the 
contrary,  I  was  complimenting  him  on  his  opposition  to 
the  Emigrant- Aid  Society;"  and  then  he  went  on  and 
repeated  what  he  had  said,  and  defied  him  or  any  other 
man  to  dispute  the  fact  that  the  whole  gang  of  United 
States  officers  had  availed  themselves  of  the  cheap  tickets 
of  the  Emigrant- Aid  Society,  evidently  for  the  purpose 
of  saving  a  few  dollars  ;  and  they  were  all  now  hypocrit- 
ically traversing  the  Territory  denouncing  it  for  political 
effect,  against  the  well-known  fact  that  any  man  who  had 
the  money  could  do  the  same  thing. 

Mr.  Perrin  was  a  power  on  the  stump,  of  pleasing  ad- 
dress and  persuasive  eloquence.  But  his  great  theme 
was  the  charge  of  colonizing  paupers,  and  ostracising  the 
Free-State  men  as  purchased  paupers ;  and  when  Speer 
struck  "  E.  0.  Perrin  and  servant"  on  the  record,  and 
verified  it,  the  audience  went  wild  with  enthusiam,  and 
the  triumph  was  complete .  ' '  His  occupation  was  gone. ' ' 
He  departed  the  country,  and  Kansas  knew  him  no  more 
forever. 

These  Osawkee  land  sales,  which  opened  July  15,  1857, 
were  the  source  of  more  free  discussion  than  had  ever 
taken  place  in  Kansas.  The  people  came  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  to  buy  land  and  to  lend  money  ;  and  gold 
was  there  in  heaps.  A  man  came  to  my  brother's  cabin 
one  day,  and  said,  "  I  want  to  go  down  to  your  spring 
and  get  a  drink."  We  walked  with  him.  He  began  to 
clean  out  the  spring,  and  pulled  out  a  bag  of  gold,  which 


NO    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   TEACHERS.  31 

he  said  he  had  hidden  there  the  night  before.  All  were 
armed,  and  men  will  fight  for  gold,  and  all  were  inter- 
ested in  having  peace — and  had  it  there,  skirmishes  on 
politics  excepted. 

Some  narrow  escapes  on  politics  occurred  which  were 
rather  amusing.  An  impromptu  discussion  broke  out, 
with  a  wagon  for  a  rostrum  ;  and  Mr.  John  C.  Douglass, 
a  very  gentlemanly  young  man  from  Leavenworth,  and 
a  Sunday  school  teacher,  undertook  to  take  a  hand  in  it, 
and  the  ruffians  made  a  rush  for  him ;  and,  although 
Mr.  Douglass  showed  good  grit,  they  mobbed  him  clear 
away  from  the  stand.  Just  about  then  D.  R.  Anthony 
appeared  in  view  ;  and  the  mob  was  hot.  They  "  had  it 
in ' '  for  Anthony  on  account  of  the  Aid  Society  records ; 
and  right  then,  he  exclaimed,  "  Joe,  you  got  me  into 
this;  will  you  stand  by  me?"  and  they  both  crawled  in 
the  wagon.  Their  first  utterances,  simultaneously  and 
together,  would  read  something  like  this:  "That  man 
you  mobbed  was  a  Sunday  school  teacher ;  we  are  no 
Sunday  school  teachers,  but  a  pair  of  blooming  aboli- 
tionists ;  and  if  you  pro-slavery  sons  of  perdition  want 
anything  of  us,  come  right  on."  They  had  their  rights 
that  day.  Their  speeches  were  not  reported,  but  it  is 
said  that  they  made  it  so  clear  that  they  were  not  Sun- 
day school  teachers,  that  that  has  never  been  disputed 
since. 

We  have  thus  attempted  in  this  chapter  to  give  very 
briefly  facts  illustrative  of  the  provocations  leading  up  to 
the  conflict  in  Kansas  till  1857,  because  we  could  not  well 


32  LIBERTY   OF   THE    PRESS    ASSERTED. 

break  the  chain  of  facts  in  regard    to  the  Emigrant-Aid 
Society  and  do  justice  to  that  institution. 

On  the  day  the  slavery-protection  law  took  effect,  we 
published  the  following  in  the  KANSAS  TRIBUNE  : 

THE    DAY    OF 


m  » 


To-day,  (tent.  I.V,IS»->.  is  the  day  on  which  the  Inl- 

•a  It.  a.1  etMCUHeat  of  »B  ill.  vlimnlr.  Illegal  r«i  fraudulent  Lepulature  Jiare  declared  commence*  the  proatration  of  tha 
•«i>.  if  ftyeech  «d-<he  nu-Uilmrnc  of  Ih.-  l.iBKRTV  OF  THE  PRESS!!  To-day  commence.  on  Era  in  Kanua 
-which  nnlrtr  She  itnrdy  mitt  df  the  Pro  ft",  booked,  if  necessary,  by  "strong  arms  and  Ihr  care  rye,"  nhall  teach  the  tyl 
-  -Items*  I  r  c--Oir»P  u»  tn-:  l«*wor.  which  mu  -fathers  taught  to  kingly  tyrant.  at  old,  shall  pnwtraic  m»  in  Ih8 
- 


Worse  i  nakk  me  <  Driest  Bospol  isiu  on.  Ea  r<  h  ! 

To-day  conrnmnrc  Oiw  apenCte.af  B  la  -,  r.  jicfc  ill  rlarr<  ;  "  »«•<•.  19.  If  my  frtf  -pemon,  IJT  np«.innr  or  by  writine.  an 
•«rl  or  maintain  thct  ftnon*  hare  not  the  rich!  'c  hold  •larm  in  thia'.TeiTilorjTor  ihall.introdnre  iato  thin  Temloir} 
f  not,  j  aUi«h,  writls  cireohue  or  eaoM  to  b«  Uktrodneed  into  thin  Territory,  written,  •printed,  published  or  rircolatrd  m 
Ail  Territory,  any  book,  paper,  magazine,  namphlet  or  circular,*  roDtaiaiag  any  denial4t>f  the.  right  of  111  1  mtmm  to  hold. 
r  V  .r*  in  i:-i"  Trrrilory,  nurh  penon  ihalLbG  dceuicd  guiltyDf  I'ciuiiy,  and  pmuahed  by  jmpneonmcnt  mt  Bard.  labor  for.* 
item  o.  aH  If  '•  ikon,  tiro  yearn,'' 

jl  ow  we  DO  ASSERT  and  >>  o  declare,  despite  all  the 

b-  •  •»  J  J  ban  rf  Ukiiuouifenr  I.r-islaturc 


HAVE    NOT    THE 

Rf  lillT  TO  HOLD  SI,  .iT  KS  I  \  THIS 
TERRITORI^ 

jUd  'S-oUl  nnT.)moa  itTTiioirnnrT«nticr  In  Iclleraso  large  and  in  language  »o  plain  *htt  fbeuAUnted  laraaeM-do 
ti  .i«rd  1  he  .Kanoa*  Legiilalure,  as  well  a* 

THAT  CORRUPT  ADD  IGNORANT  LEGISLATURE 

Itself,  may  understand  It—  -so  that,  if  they  cannot  read. 

tt.<-<  U..T  MT.I.I,  if  «II  T.  nnd  nw.lil»tc  nn.l  drlibf  rote  upon  il;  and  we  hold  that  the  man  wbo  ftita  to  «Uer  riu.  aeU^ 
«rUeat  troth,  on  account  of  the  .luolcnt  enactment  alluded  to,  if  •  poltroon  and  a  al*n  worse  than  the  Mack  altra  of 
*«r  penecitors  and  oppresson, 

The  CouQlntion  of  the  Vniled  State.,  the  great  Magttft  Charta  of  Amrrican  .Ubenic., 

O  ua  ra  n  let's  to  every  Citizen  the  Liberty  of  Speech  and 
the  Freedom  of  the  Press  ! 

Ami  Out  U  flie  nrrf  lin»  in  the  hirtory  of  Amcr  thai  a  oodr  cteiminr  Lcgi.la«r«.  power,  tat  Uni  to  «"«f'«»  _T™1 
Vbc.  from  the  people  .And  il  in  not  only  the  right,  but  Ihr  nounden  duly  of  every  Vrrcman  to  .par.  with  "^"-I'  «* 
tra-plc  undrr  feol  on  cnociment  which  thu.  ba«ly  >Jolate.  the  righw  of  Freemen.  For^  o.r  P-itJ".  ° 
CmmVE  to  utter  th»  truth  .o  Jong  a.  we  hare  the  power  of  utterance,  and.nothmg  bui  Ike  brmte 
tyranny  cut  nrcrent  u». 

Wifl  any  ciiizcn-mny  ftrt  Ameriean-  brook  the  insult  of 


AW     IJCSOLJEUCT     GAG     LAW!! 

r 
,  nopolar 


«n«  wwk  of  a  ItjrWntnre  rferfeJ  by  bulhing  rnlBanil  Wlo  In-radeJ  Kawas  with  arm.,  and  whow  dninlcn  rerelry,  ni 
.r  peacruulc.  nnolfendin-,  and  romporatiTely  unarmed  citoew.  were  adumce  u  manhood,  and  a 
ar  £ci.uMiean  «.»entm?nt  !    If  Iheydo.  they  «re  alare.  already,  and  with  the-  Freedom  i.  bm  •  « 


CAPTAIN     I  HANK     H.     SWIFT.  33 

This  defiance  of  tyranny  and  defense  of  the  freedom 
of  the  press  was  published  in  full  page  size,  18  by  24 
inches,  and  is  now  reproduced  in  reduced  fac  simile  by 
photo-engraving,  to  show  the  spirit  of  the  times. 

We  cannot  insert  this  without  referring  to  the  gallant 
soldier,  the  accomplished  printer,  the  intelligent  legisla- 
tor, the  true  friend,  and  the  compositor  who  put  that 
arraignment  in  type,  Capt.  FRANK  B.  SWIFT,  whom  the 
people  of  Lawrence  took  from  a  case  in  our  office,  by 
electing  him  to  the  Legislature  ;  and  any  imperfections 
in  the  job  are  explained  by  the  fact  that  it  took  all  the 
type  we  had  to  do  it.  The  spots  in  it  were  made  by 
sparks  from  the  burning  of  the  editor's  dwelling. 

The  following  oath  will  explain  what  was  going  on 
elsewhere  the  same  day  : 

UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA,  TERRITORY  OF  KA.V-\-. 

I,  JOHN  P.  WOOD,  do  solemnly  swear,  upon  the  holy  Evangelists  of 
Almighty  God,  that  I  will  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  I  will  support  and  sustain  the  provisions  of  an  act  en- 
titled "An  act  to  organize  the  Territories  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas," 
and  the  provisions  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  commonly  known 
as  the  Fugitive  Slave  law,  and  faithfully  and  impartially  and  to  the 
best,  of  my  ability,  demean  myself  in  the  disoharge  of  my  duties  in 
the  office  of  Probate  Judge.  So  help  me  God. 

JOHN  P.  WOOD. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me  this  15th  day  of  September,  1855. 
DANIEL  WOODSON,  Sec't'y  Kansas  Territory. 

Journal  A.  page  1  Probate  Co  urt  Douglas  county,  Kansas. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MOVEMENT    FOR    A    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

Gen.  Lane's  first  direct  participation  with  the  Free- 
Slate  party  was  in  the  initiatory  steps  for  the  formation 
of  a  State  Constitution,  in  which  he  at  once  became  the 
leader. 

So  much  has  been  said  about  "  the  Topeka  Movement, " 
and  the  claims  of  ambition  so  often  presented,  that  it  is 
better  to  let  the  actions  and  words  of  participants  of  the 
times  speak  in  justice  as  much  as  the  records  will  show. 

It  is  due  first,  however,  to  Hon.  Martin  F.  Conway,  a 
journeyman  printer,  almost  a  boy  at  the  time,  to  say, 
that,  in  my  opinion,  the  initial  step  for  resistance  to  the 
laws  passed  by  the  Pro-Slavery  or  "  Bogus  Legislature'1 
was  in  an  impromptu  meeting  under  the  shade  of  the 

Kansas  Tribune  office,  in  Lawrence,  at  which  he  declared 
his  determination  to  refuse  to  sit  as  a  member  of  the 
Territorial  Council,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  and  re- 
ceived hio  certificate  from  Gov.  Reeder,  and  he  did  send 
a  letter  of  protest  and  resignation  to  that  legislature,  on 
July  3,  1855,  the  day  next  after  its  assembling,  rejecting 
his  certificate  with  contempt. 


FIRST    MEETING    FOR    RESISTANCE.  35 

I  think  the  following  is  the  only  report  ever  made  of 
the  meeting  thus  called  : 
From  the  Kansas  Tribune,  June  13,  1855. 

PUBLIC  MEETING. 

A  large  number  of  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  assembled  at  the  hall 
of  Messrs.  Harlow  &  Hutchinson  in  Lawrence,  on  the  evening  of  the 
8th  instant,  to  take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  calling  a  Ter- 
ritorial convention  of  Free-State  men,  JOHN  SPEER  in  the  chair,  and 
A.  S.  ADDIS  secretary.  M.  F.  Conway,  Esq.,  of  Pawnee,  being  called 
for,  made  some  "able  and  spirited  remarks  in  relation  to  the  outrage- 
ous and  unparalleled  invasion  of  our  rights  by  armed  hordes  from 
Missouri,  at  the  recent  election.  He  was  for  repudiating  all  action 
by  the  Legislature  elected  by  Missouri,  and  memorializing  Congress 
for  relief.  The  meeting  was  also  addressed  in  an  interesting  manner 
by  Messrs.  J.  L.  Speer,  S.  N.  Simpson,  E.  D.  Ladd,  J.  Hutchinson,  R. 
G.  Elliott  and  others. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Simpson,  it  was  resolved  to  call  a  Territorial  con- 
vention at  Lawrence  on  the  25th  of  June,  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
expression  to  their  views  in  relation  to  the  recent  outrage,  and  taking 
such  action  in  the  premises  as  might  be  deemed  proper. 

On  motion  of  J.  L.  Speer,  it  was  recommended  that  each  represent- 
ative district  should  appoint  five  delegates  to  said  convention.  The 
following  gentlemen  were  then  appointed  to  represent  the  Lawrence 
district:  Messrs.  Elliott,  Deitzler,  J.  L.  Speer,  S.  N.  Wood,  and  S.  N. 
Simpson. 

On  motion,  the  chair  appointed  Messrs.  Pratt,  Elliott  and  Abbott  to 
act  as  a  committee  to  inform  the  Free-State  men  of  other  districts  of 
the  objects  of  the  proposed  meeting,  and  solicit  their  co-operation. 

A.  S.  ADDIS,  Secretary.  JOHN  SPEER,  President. 

Though  this  meeting  was  dubiously  looked  upon  by 
mere  politicians  as  indiscreet,  it  was  well  attended,  and 
was  the  beginning  of  the  great  constitutional  struggle. 

After  diligent  search,  I  can  find  no  proceedings,  nor 
do  I  remember,  of  any  convention  of  June  25,  1855  ;  but 


36  ONLY    A    FEW    FOOL    ABOLITIONISTS    KNOW    IT. 

this  may  have  been  a  confounding  of  dates.  Politicians 
were  scared  at  this  "revolutionary"  movement.  It 
might  have  been  said  of  it,  as  Gen.  D.  W.  Wilder  said, 
in  a  great  street  meeting  on  universal  emancipation  : 
"It  is  coming,  but  only  a  few  of  us  fool  abolitionists 
know  it.'' 

The  Topeka  Constitution  movement  was  universally 
conceded  to  be  the  culminating  point  in  resistance  to 
the  usurpation,  and  the  "invention  "  of  a  practical  plan 
for  deliverance  from  the  thraldom  of  the  Territorial  laws. 
It  would  perhaps  be  unfair  to  claim  that  credit  for  any 
man.  All  the  politicians  had  talked  over  the  question 
of  State  organization — some  from  one  point  of  necessity, 
and  some  from  another ;  but  nearly,  if  not  quite  all  of 
them,  from  the  stand-point  of  ambition  to  be  Senators, 
Governors,  Congressmen  and  Federal  officers. 

The  fairest  way  is  to  pulbish  in  full  the  proceedings  of 
the  very  first  meeting  at  which  the  question  was  fully 
discussed,  and  was  called  for  that  discussion.  We  there- 
fore give  it  to  show  Gen.  Lane's  action  with  the  rest  on 
that  question,  remarking  only  that  that  report  was  made 
by  a  reporter  decidedly  unfriendly  to  him,  and  therefore 
now  becomes  the  most  important  in  establishing  his  po- 
sition. 

The  Herald  of  Freedom  of  July  14,  1855,  has  the  pro- 
proceedings  of  a  meeting  held  at  Lawrence  July  11 : 

Messrs.  G.  W.  Smith,  John  Hutchinson,  John  P.  Wood,  Rev.  Mr. 
Nute,  Dr.  C.  Robinson,  C.  Stearns,  Wm.  Jesse  and  others,  by  whom 
the  particular  form  of  the  organization  to  be  effected  and  the  action 


MODERATION,  MODERATION,  MODERATION.      37 

to  be  taken,  was  earnestly  and  warmly  discussed.  .  .  .  Messrs. 
Smith,  Robinson  and  others  recommended  the  choosing  of  delegates 
for  the  formation  of  a  State  Constitution,  and  application  to  the  next 
session  of  Congress  for  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  State. 
The  only  action  taken  was  the  passage  of  the  following  resolution  : 
Resolved,  That  a  mass  meeting  of  the  Free-State  citizens  of  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Kansas  be  held  in  Lawrence  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  August 
next,  to  take  into  consideration  the  situation  of  the  Territory  in  ref- 
erence to  its  government,  and  for  the  transaction  of  such  other  busi- 
ness as  may  come  before  the  meeting. 

The  meeting  thus  called  to  be  "  be  held  in  Lawrence 
on  the  second  Tuesday  in  August,"  met  pursuant  to  the 
recommendation,  and  the  proceedings  are  reported  in  the 
Herald  of  Freedom  of  August  18,  1855.  Col.  Lane  said, 
as  reported  in  that  paper  : 

If  I  believed  a  prayer  for  you,  from  me,  would  do  any  good,  it  would 
be  that  you  might  be  imbued  with  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  the  caution 
of  Washington  and  the  justice  of  Franklin.  I  am  glad  to  see  so  many 
here  this  inclement  day.  It  requires  wisdom — it  requires  manhood  to 
restrain  passion.  I  say  as  a  citizen  of  Kansas,  I  wish  we  had  wisdom 
to-day.  There  is  the  existence  of  a  nation  hanging  upon  the  action  of 
the  citizens  of  Kansas.  Moderation,  moderation,  moderation,  gentle- 
men !  I  believe  it  is  the  duty  of  each  of  us  to  define  our  position.  I 
am  here,  as  anxious  as  any  of  you  to  secure  A  FREE  CO.VSTITUTIOX  TO 
KANSAS. 

Dr.  Robinson  [since  Governor  Robinson]  made  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  resolutions,  with  a  lengthy  preamble. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  insert  all  these  resolutions.  The 
preamble  and  the  first  three  resolutions  were  recitations 
of  our  oppressions  and  declarations  to  resist  the  imposi- 
tions. 

The  fourth  resolution  was  to  "  set  aside  all  differences 
of  political  opinion,  to  cultivate  a  comprehensive  and 


38  TO    EFFECT    A    THOROUGH    UNION. 

intimate  intercourse  with  each  other,  to  effect  a  thorough 
union,  and  otherwise  prepare  for  the  common  defense." 

This  resolution  was  adopted  on  Col.  Lane's  motion. 

The  fifth  resolution  was  drawn  by  John  Speer,  though 
not  a  member  of  the  committee  on  resolutions,  and  read 
as  follows : 

5.  Resolved,  That  we  consider  the  attempt  to  establish  a  Territorial 
form  of  government  in  this  Territory  as  thus  far  an  utter  failure,  and 
that  the  people  of  the  Territory  should,  at  some  convenient  period, 
assemble  at  their  several  places  of  holding  elections  in  the  various 
districts  of  the  Territory,  and  elect  delegates  to  a  convention  to  form 
a  State  Constitution  for  the  State  of  Kansas,  with  a  view  to  an  imme- 
diate State  organization,  and  application,  at  the  next  session  of  Con- 
gress, for  admission  into  the  American  Union  as  one  of  the  States  of 
the  American  Confederacy. 

The  Herald  of  Freedom  says  : 
The  fifth  resolution  was  moved  for  adoption  by  Col.  Lane. 

This  resolution  was  most  thoroughly  discussed  during 
the  forenoon  and  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day's  pro- 
ceedings, by  Messrs.  Lane,  Holliday,  Hutchinson,  Rev. 
Gilpatrick,  G.  W.  Smith,  Robinson,  (since  Gov.  Robin- 
son,) Foster,  Wakefield,  Mendenhall,  Jesse,  Ladd,  Pom- 
eroy,  Conway  and  others. 

We  quote  from  the  Herald  of  Freedom  the  remarks  of 
the  most  prominent  men  upon  the  fifth  resolution,  "with 
a  view  to  immediate  state  organization." 

Mr.  Holliday  [since  so  universally  known  as  Col.  Holliday  of  Topeka, 
one  of  the  leading  organizers  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Rail- 
way Company]  spoke  briefly,  but  to  the  point,  upon  the  resolution, 
and  said  he  was  glad  that  during  the  night  the  conflicting  elements  of 
the  day  previously  had  been  harmonized  ;  that  he  believed  all  parties 
would  unite  in  adopting  the  majority  report.  [Cheers.] 


LANE    FOR    STATE    GOVERNMENT.  39 

Rev.  Mr.  Gilpatrick.  The  question  is  not  whether  we  will  have 
slaves  in  Kansas,  but  whether  we  will  be  slaves  ourselves.  A  worse 
than  vandal  horde  are  riveting  chains  upon  us.  For  myself,  I  will  not 
consent  they  shall  do  it.  I  would  rather  go  to  a  Southern  plantation 
and  labor  by  the  side  of  the  meanest  slave,  and  be  compelled  to  toil 
on  for  life,  than  submit  to  the  degradation. 

Mr.  [G.  W.]  Smith  had  not  differed  in  the  sentiment  of  the  majority 
report.  The  wording  was  different  from  what  he  would  have  made  it. 
As  he  understood  the  matter,  he  could  cordially  adopt  the  plan  sub- 
mitted by  the  committee. 

Dr.  Robinson  [since  Governor]  did  not  wish  to  be  misunderstood  in 
regard  to  his  position.  He  could  not  consent  that  a  movement  for 
framing  a  State  Constitution  should  originate  in  this  convention.  He 
would  be  happy  to  meet  with  a  convention  of  the  people  at  large  at 
another  time,  to  take  action  upon  the  expediency  of  framing  a  consti- 
tution ;  but  he  would  make  no  pledges  as  to  how  he  would  act  in  the 
premises  in  the  convention  about  to  be  held. 

Mr.  Mendenhall  lives  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  daily  sessions 
of  this  mock  Legislature,  and  knows  their  doings.  He  recounted 
the  fact  that  Missourians  directed  the  legislation  of  that  body  ;  that 
Atchison,  Stringfellow  and  Shannon  were  at  Westport  advising  and 
directing  the  action  of  the  legislature ;  and  that  their  tools  at  the 
Mission  were  only  carrying  out  their  previously  expressed  will.  He 
did  not  feel  like  being  governed  by  such  a  body  of  men,  and  hoped  the 
resolution  would  be  unanimously  adopted. 

Gen.  Pomeroy  [afterward  United  States  Senator]  being  loudly  called 
for,  took  the  stand,  and  thought  the  tims  had  not  arrived  for  forming 
a  State  Government.  He  was  not  without  hope  of  the  new  Governor. 
[Gov.'Dawson,  appointed  by  President  Pierce,  but  never  accepted — a 
Pennsylvanian.]  He  thought  it  was  possible  our  best  hopes  might  be 
realized.  Let  us  not  embarrass  the  new  powers.  I  believe  there  is 
yet  light,  though  all  now  is  dark  as  night.  I  have  just  come  from  the 
East,  and  have  travelled  through  the  free  West,  and  know  that  a  de- 
termined and  firm  course  will  meet  with  the  support  of  every  freeman 
in  the  nation,  and  many  of  the  best  men  of  the  South.  There  is  a  way 


40  LANE    SWAYS    THE    CONVENTION. 

to  redeem  our  Territory,  and  I  believe  it  can  be  done.  The  Grecian 
fable  tells  us  that  Justice  can  sleep,  and  Equity  lie  napping  on  the 
couch  of  Time  ;  but  we  deceive  ourselves,  if  we  think,  on  her  waking, 
she  will  be  affrighted  back  to  her  native  heaven.  Those  men  now  in 
power  by  foreign  votes, 

"  Dressed  in  a  little  brief  authority, 

Play  fantastic  tricks  before  high  heaven." 

Col.  Lane  replied  briefly.  Was  in  favor  of  adopting  a  State  Govern- 
ment, and  had  no  doubt  Gov.  Dawson  would  lend  his  aid  in  further- 
ance of  such  a  project. 

At  the  afternoon  session  the  same  report  says : 

Mr.  Conway  occupied  twenty-five  minutes,  by  special  vote  of  the 
convention,  in  showing  that  it  was  practical  to  move  for  a  State  Con- 
stitution. His  remarks  were  delivered  with  great  earnestness,  and 
listened  to  with  great  attention. 

A  resolution  was  adopted  endorsing  the  action  of  the  Free-State 
convention  held  in  Lawrence  on  the  25th  of  June,  and  the  Executive 
Committee  were  requested  to  perfect  their  organization. 

Allusion  was  made  to  a  Free-State  delegate  convention  called  at  Big 
Springs  on  the  5th  of  September  next.  The  bills  were  exhibited,  and 
the  movers  of  that  convention,  several  of  whom  were  present,  ex- 
pressed a  desire  that  there  should  be  a  union  of  effort  of  all  Free-State 
men,  and  hoped  that  those  in  attendance  at  this  convention  would  act 
in  concert  with  that.  The  following  resolution  was  then  introduced 
by  Mr.  Speer,  one  of  the  secretaries,  who  reduced  the  understanding 
to  writing,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  in  conformity  with  past  recommendations,  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  be  requested  to  call  a  Free-State  Convention  of 
five  delegates  to  each  representative  from  the  several  representative 
districts  of  Kansas,  to  be  elected  on  the  25th  day  of  August,  to  meet 
in  convention  at  Big  Springs  on  the  5th  day  of  September  next,  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  such  action  as  exigencies  of  the  times  may  de- 
mand agreeably  to  a  call  already  published. 

The  proceedings  published  but  very  mildly  portray  the 
action  of  Lane  on  that  occasion. 


POLITICIANS    SCARED — PATRIOTS    BOLD.  41 

The  proceedings  of  the  times  show  for  themselves. 
The  politicians  were  startled  at  the  audacity  of  the 
movement.  The  legislature,  sitting  at  the  Shawnee 
Mission,  at  the  Missouri  line,  many  of  the  members 
boarding  in  Missouri,  were  concocting  laws  making  the 
severest  penalties  for  discussing  the  question  of  slavery  ; 
and  the  popular  sentiment  of  Missouri  needed  no  such 
stimulant  to  break  out  in  fury,  kill  and  drive  from  the 
country  the  few  brave  spirits  who  dared  to  confront  that 
giant  of  despotism.  Gen.  Pomeroy,  a  man  of  talent, 
ambitious  for  the  Senate,  whither  he  afterwards  went, 
stood  aghast  at  the  temerity  of  that  brave  assembly, 
thought  there  would  be  a  way,  that  there  might  be  light, 
"  though  all  was  dark,"  and  related  a  Grecian  fable.  It 
was  no  time  for  fables.  Stern  realities  faced  us.  The 
eloquence  of  Conway  stirred  that  audience  as  the  voice 
of  Patrick  Henry  aroused  the  men  of  the  Revolution. 
The  brave  Quaker,  Richard  Mendenhall,  his  home  and 
his  family  in  sight  of  the  halls  of  legislation,  uttered 
truthful  words  of  warning,  and  boldly  backed  the  meas- 
ure of  our  hope  and  salvation ;  and  paid  the  penalty 
when  the  Friends'  Mission  went  up  in  flame.  Col.  Hol- 
liday  uttered  the  voice  of  Topoka  in  no  mistaken  terms, 
when,  after  a  night's  del ibe ration,  he  declared  that  it 
gave  him  great  satisfaction  to  announce  that  "  conflict- 
ing elem3nts  had  been  harmonized;"  and  most  nobly 
the  Topeka  people  backed  him  up.  By  the  time  the  Big 
Springs  convention  met,  the  whole  country  was  aroused. 
Many  statements  have  been  published  as  to  the  "  in- 
ventor of  the  Topeka  movement."  It  was  so  great  a 


42  UNEQUIVOCALLY  FOR  FREEDOM. 

movement  that  many  were  willing  to  confess  its  pater- 
nity when  danger  passed  by.  "Invented"  is  a  safe 
term ;  but  this  writer  hopes  his  egotism  will  be  excused 
in  the  interest  of  the  truth,  when  he  says  that  he  him- 
self, at  that  street  meeting — and  an  unfriendly  hand  has 
made  it  into  history — made  a  motion  for  a  meeting  at 
Big  Springs  on  September  5,  1855,  while  the  inventor 
was  getting  out  his  caveat,  and  the  patent  was  lost. 

Notwithstanding  Lane's  earnest  emphatic  champion- 
ship of  the  measure,  the  prejudices  against  his  vote  for 
the  organic  act  still  clung  to  him.  The  Western  men, 
notwithstanding  their  positive  enmity  to  slavery,  were 
generally  in  favor  of  a  law  prohibiting  negroes,  bond  or 
frae,  from  settling  in  the  country  ;  and  some  of  them  went 
so  far  as  to  say,  if  they  must  have  negroes  among  them, 
they  wanted  them  slaves.  Such  laws  had  existed  in  the 
Western  States,  and  in  some  they  were  constitutional 
provisions.  He  was  a  black-law  man ;  and,  while  that 
helped  him  with  the  Western  people,  it  was  very  repug- 
nant to  the  advanced  anti-slavery  sentiment  of  the  East. 

"  Lane  spoke  briefly,"  says  the  report.  As  the  meet- 
ing was  adjourning,  he  sent  a  man  to  me  to  ask  me  to 
announce  that  he  would  speak  at  the  hall  that  night.  I 
refused,  unless  he  proposed,  without  equivocation,  to 
speak  for  the  Free-State  cause.  He  declared  that  he 
would  open  up  in  favor  of  a  Free  Constitution  and  de- 
nounce a  noted  Pro-Slavery  leader.  An  immense  crowd 
appeared  ;  and  rarely  was  such  a  scathing  administered . 
His  address  inspired  every  heart. 


BLACK-LAW    EMBARRASSMENTS.  43 

An  incident  occurred  that  night  which  showed  Lane's 
presence  of  mind.  The  meeting  was  in  Robinson  Hall, 
second  floor.  As  he  spoke  to  an  audience  charmed  with 
his  invective  frontier  eloquence,  the  building  gave  way. 
Instantly,  bringing  his  arms  down  with  emphasis,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  Stand  still !"  Not  a  soul  moved.  "Now," 
he  continued,  "  let  two  of  our  best  mechanics  go  quietly 
out,  examine  the  building  and  report."  They  did  so, 
and  reported  that  it  had  sunk  three  to  four  inches,  but 
its  foundation  was  solid  and  the  building  safe.  The 
meeting  went  on. 

From  that  night  on,  Lane  was  a  giant  in  the  Free- 
State  cause.  He  was  a  candidate  for  delegate  to  the 
Big  Springs  convention,  and  I  opposed  him  because  he 
was  a  black-law  man.  Our  candidate  was  defeated  ;  but 
I  got  in  a  resolution  instructing  him  to  oppose  any  allu- 
sion to  black  laws  as  a  delegate  in  the  convention.  That 
was  the  best  anybody  could  do. 

A  few  days  afterward,  I  met  him  in  the  road,  and  his 
first  greeting  was:  "Why  is  it  you  so  oppose  me?" 
I  said  I  was  not  opposed  to  him.  I  was  opposed  to  his 
barbaric  black  laws.  He  asked  me  if  I  did  not  believe  a 
majority  of  the  people  were  in  favor  of  laws  prohibiting 
the  immigration  of  negroes,  bond  or  free,  to  Kansas.  1 
admitted  it,  but  told  him  such  a  clause  in  the  constitu- 
tion would  defeat  admission,  and  drive  all  sympathy 
with  us  from  such  men  as  Sumner,  Wade,  Wilson,  Ste- 
vens and  Chase,  and  utterly  defeat  the  project.  We  sat 
down  and  talked  it  over,  and  he  made  this  proposition  : 


44  ADROIT    POLITICS A    CHALLENGE. 

If  he  could  get  into  the  Constitutional  Convention,  he 
would  use  all  his  powers  to  get  a  clause  in  as  a  separate 
question,  distinct  from  the  constitution,  to  be  voted  on 
pro  and  con,  and  to  be  operative  only  as  instructions  to 
the  first  legislature,  to  be  null  and  void  afterwards.  We 
shook  hands  on  that,  and  agreed  cordially  to  be  friends. 
In  the  state  of  feeling  then,  it  was  the  sublimity  of  wis- 
dom. It  was  carried  out  to  the  lettor.  And  when  Lane 
was  sent  to  Washington  with  that  constitution  and  pre- 
sented it  to  Congress,  Senator  Douglas  accused  him  of 
forgery  by  striking  out  a  black-law  clause,  and  Lane 
promptly  challenged  him  to  mortal  combat — a  challenge 
which  Douglas  declined  on  the  ground  that  Lane  was  not 
his  peer  as  a  Senator.  On  all  opportune  occasions  Lane 
used  to  say  :  "  Deep  down  in  Douglas'  pocket  is  a  chal- 
lenge which  he  declined  because  I  was  not  his  peer.  He 
insulted  you  as  well  as  me.  You  owe  it  alike  to  your- 
selves and  to  me  to  put  me  where  I  will  make  him  reach 
down  and  pull  that  paper  out !"  That  was  strange  elec- 
tioneering language,  or  would  be  now;  but  it  was  the 
spirit  of  the  age.  The  war  made  them  mutual  friends  ; 
and  perhaps  no  statesman  more  sincerely  lamented 
Douglas'  untimely  death  than  Senator  Lane.  Well  I 
remember  his  sad  expression  of  countenance  as  tin- 
event  was  announced  to  him;  and  how  sympathetically 
he  spoke  of  Douglas'  patriotic  work  and  his  great  influ- 
ence over  important  elements  in  the  pivotal  condition  of 
the  American  Union.  But  events  proved  that  great 
men  might  pass  away,  but  the  Union  was  ever-enduring. 


THE    BIG    SPRINGS    CONVENTION.  45 

Wilder's  Annals,  the  vade  mecum  and  multum  in  parvo 
in  Kansas  literature  and  history,  has  but  one  reference 
to  "  black  laws,"  and  that  relates  to  a  vote  in  the  Topeka 
Constitutional  Convention  (page  86)  on  a  motion  to  strike 
the  word  ''white"  out  of  the  suffrage  provision.  We 
suppose  the  author  considered  that  black  enough,  and 
searched  no  further.  Hon.  John  Hutch  ings,  a  bookworm 
of  Lawrence,  who  had  hardly  a  compeer  in  Kansas  his- 
torical research,  considered  it  a  myth.  It  nevertheless 
passed  just  as  I  have  stated  it;  and  Lane  scorned  the 
idea  of  explaining  under  an  imputation  of  his  word. 

The  Big  Springs  Convention  became  noted  throughout 
the  Union,  as  intimately  connected  with,  and  a  part  of, 
"  The  Topeka  Movement;"  and  it  was  the  first  consoli- 
da.ted  mass  of  the  freemen  of  Kansas  in  resistance  to  the 
oppressions  attempted  by  the  usurping  legislature,  and 
was  as  intelligent,  earnest  and  heroic  a  body  of  men  as 
ever  assembled  to  resist  the  tyranny  of  George  the  Third. 
It  was  emphatically  an  armed  meeting.  I  remember  well, 
at  the  rude  country  hotel,  when  I  asked  the  landlady  for 
my  overcoat,  her  response  :  "  Go  in  and  get  it.  I  would 
not  touch  that  armory  for  all  the  property  in  the  room." 
It  was  safe  to  be  dangerous,  and  dangerous  to  be  safe, 
then.  There  was  danger,  as  the  weight  of  every  coat  I 
had  to  remove,  in  the  great  pile  of  garments  plainly  in- 
dicated. 

The  people  came  from  all  portions  of  the  Territory. 
No  hamlet  nor  agricultural  community  was  unrepre- 
sented. Men  started  before  daylight  in  dangerous  pro- 


46       THE  STEADY  ARM  AND  THE  SURE  EYE. 

slavery  places,  like  Kickapoo,  Delaware,  Lecompton  and 
elsewhere,  to  avoid  interruption,  if  not  assassination. 

Gov.  Andrew  H.  Reeder,  who  had  endeared  himself  to 
every  friend  of  liberty,  by  his  noble  stand  in  favor  of 
law,  justice  and  the  rights  of  man,  was  nominated  for 
Delegate  to  Congress  by  acclamation;  and,  to  avoid 
bloodshed,  as  well  as  the  appearance  of  recognition  of 
the  "  Bogus  Laws,"  by  an  invasion  similar  to  those  pre- 
ceding, they  fixed  the  time  on  a  different  day  from  that 
designated  by  those  "laws."  Reeder's  speech  of  ac- 
ceptance was  a  masterpiece  of  eloquence  and  patriotism. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  there  was  no  reporter  on  the 
ground  to  preserve  it  as  an  example  of  heroic  literature, 
to  be  read  by  future  generations,  when  liberty  might 
seem  to  be  endangered.  When  he  uttered  this  noble 
sentiment:  "We  stand  here,  fellow-citizens,  as  with 
the  voice  of  one  man,  to  proclaim  to  the  world,  before 
High  Heaven,  that  we  will  protect  our  rights  with  the 
steady  arm  and  the  sure  eye !"  it  was  said  that  the  unit 
shout  was  heard  at  Lecompton,  five  miles  away  !  "  He 
who  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,"  sent  a  stiff 
breeze  into  the  pro-slavery  camp  that  day. 

Two  sets  of  resolutions  were  adopted  :  One  set  offered 
by  Gen.  Lane,  and  thereafter  known  as  the  "  Big  Springs 
Platform;"  and  the  other  by  Hon.  James  S.  Emery. 
Lane's  were  the  more  conservative  of  the  two  ;  but  both 
were  positive  in  their  determined  insistance  upon  our 
rights — Emery's  declaring  that  "  we  will  resist  them 
[the  "laws"]  to  a  bloody  issue  as  soon  as  we  ascertain 


A    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  47 

that  peaceable  remedies  shall  fail,  and  forcible  resist- 
ance shall  furnish  any  reasonable  prospect  of  success." 

Mr.  John  Hutchinson  offered  a  resolution  endorsing 
the  people's  movement  recommended  by  the  convention 
of  August  14  and  15,  previously  alluded  to,  for  a  dele- 
gate convention  of  "  the  people  of  Kansas  Territory,  to 
be  held  at  Topeka  on  the  19th  instant,  to  consider  the 
propriety  of  forming  a  State  Constitution,"  which  passed 
without  a  dissenting  vote. 

Events  followed  events  in  quick  succession.  The  peo- 
ple met  in  Delegate  Convention  at  Topeka  on  September 
19.  It  was  a  business  meeting,  well  attended;  but  it 
took  two  days.  The  first  day,  it  met  about  noon.  Lane 
was  not  there  ;  and  doubts  were  expressed  about  his  loy- 
alty to  the  cause.  A  little  after  dark,  he  came  riding  up 
at  the  head  of  a  body  of  "  conservative  Western  men," 
M.  W.  Delahay,  H.  Miles  Moore  and  S.  N.  Latta  among 
them,  all  of  whom  became  distinguished  in  the  Free-State 
hosts  afterwards.  They  had  rode  sixty  miles  that  day  to 
get  there  ;  and  in  five  minutes,  Lane  had  his  horse  tied  to 
a  post,  and  was  making  a  street  speech  to  an  admiring 
audience.  That  meeting  made  him  chairman  of  a  com- 
mittee on  an  Address  to  the  People,  and  appointed  an 
Executive  Committee,  as  follows:  J.  H.  Lane,  chair- 
man, C.  K.  Holliday,  M.  J.  Parrott,  P.  C.  Schuyler,  G, 
W.  Smith,  G.  W.  Brown,  and  J.  K.  Goodin,  secretary. 
That  was,  in  fact,  a  Provisional  Government,  with  Lane 
at  its  head.  The  Committee  issued  scrip  to  pay  expen- 
ses, and  considerable  of  it  was  redeemed,  by  contribu- 


48  CONSTITUTION    FRAMED. 

tions  from  Eastern  friends.  They  also  proclaimed  a 
a  day  of  Thanksgiving.  At  a  later  period,  just  after 
a  Free-State  victory,  in  reply  to  a  petition  from  cer- 
tain citizens  for  a  day  of  Thanksgiving,  Gov.  Walsh 
replied  by  refusing,  and  giving  as  a  reason,  that  there 
was  nothing  to  be  thankful  for,  in  this  infernal  country, 
or  words  to  that  effect. 

The  delegates  to  the  Topeka  Constitutional  Convention 
were  elected,  and  James  H.  Lane  made  President,  par- 
ticipating actively  in  its  proceedings.  The  convention 
met  at  Topeka  October  23,  and  framed  a  liberal  and 
admirable  Charter  of  Freedom  for  our  State  government, 
adjourning  November  11,  submitting  the  instrument  to 
a  vote  of  the  people,  December  15,  1855  ;  but  before  the 
vote  was  taken,  war  was  declared  against  the  people  and 
Lawrence  besieged  by  1,200  armed  men,  mostly  from 
Missouri. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    WAKARUSA    WAR ATTEMPTED    SUBJUGATION. 

While  the  people  were  jubilant  over  the  success  of  the 
Big  Springs  Convention,  and  gratified  with  the  results 
of  the  Topeka  Constitutional  Convention,  a  new  element 
of  discord  and  disaster  broke  out,  in  the  murder  of 
Charles  W.  Dow  by  Franklin  N.  Coleman — which  was 
followed  by  the  Pro-Slavery  authorities,  not  in  arresting 
the  murderer,  but  in  capturing  Dow's  neighbor,  with 
whom  he  boarded,  Jacob  Branson,  apparently,  as  the 
Free-State  men  claimed  and  believed,  to  prevent  Bran- 
son from  being  a  witness  against  the  murderer. 

In  the  invasion,  outrages  and  murder  following,  which 
was  known  as  the  Wakarusa  War,  the  prejudices  against 
Lane  became  again  transparent,  and  he  was  placed 
second  in  command.  Dr.  Charles  Robinson  (since  Gov- 
ernor Robinson)  was  made  Commander-in-Chief  of  all 
the  forces.  There  was,  indeed,  a  prejudice  in  the  minds 
of  many  New  England  men  against  Western  men — a  fear 
that  they  were  not  far  enough  advanced  in  anti-slavery 
sentiment  to  be  trusted ;  and  there  was  an  especial  dis- 
trust against  Southern  men  who  expressed  anti-slavery 


00  THE    MURDER    OF    DOW. 

opinions,  not  unwarranted,  but  sometimes  doing  injus- 
tice to  the  firmest  and  truest  advocates  of  the  Free-State 
cause  ;  but  investigation  was  a  necessary  precaution.  It 
is  no  reflection  on  any  person  to  tell  this  patent  truth, 
that  there  was  no  other  known  man  in  Kansas,  who  had 
the  experience  as  an  officer  in  war,  to  lead  in  the  drill- 
ing, organizing  and  maneuvering  of  an  army  in  the  crisis 
upon  us.  Like  a  true  soldier,  bound  to  obey  as  well  as 
command,  he  accepted  the  situation  with  anon  chalance 
which  showed  no  disappointment — not  a  quiver  of  the 
lip,  a  blanch  of  the  cheek  or  a  wink  of  the  eye,  indicated 
any  uneasines  at  his  position.  Nor  are  we  finding  fault 
with  anything ;  but  attempting,  in  the  interest  of  the 
truth,  to  "  hew  to  the  line,  let  the  chips  fall  where  they 
may."  He  took  his  position  as  Grant  did,  when  he  was 
set  to  making  records  at  Springfield  ;  and  they  both  made 
their  records  afterward. 

But  to  our  subject:  Lane  and  his  acts.  Trouble  had 
been  brewing  all  summer.  The  acts  of  the  Free-State 
party — their  withdrawal  from  all  participation  in  elec- 
tions ;  the  bold  defiance  of  the  Big  Springs  convention, 
and  yet  their  peaceable  aspect  in  refusing  to  recognize 
either  "the  laws"  or  the  elections  under  them — were 
aggravating  to  men  "  spoiling  for  a  fight."  Their  pre- 
text came  in  this  homocide,  which  was  a  cold-blooded 
murder.  It  occurred  at  a  point  near  where  is  now  the 
west  end  of  Palmyra  township,  in  Douglas  county,  and 
near  the  old  Santa  Fe  wagon  trail.  Dow  was  a  quiet, 
inoffensive,  courteous  gentleman.  Branson  was  an  up- 


BRANSON    RESCUED FORTS   CONSTRUCTED.  51 

right,  honest  farmer.  I  knew  both  well.  His  murder 
created  a  sensation  all  over  the  country,  and  especially 
near  his  former  Ohio  home,  on  the  Western  Reserve; 
but  his  family  was  from  New  England,  and  when  Horace 
Greeley  visited  Lawrence,  May  19, 1859,  he  made  special 
inquiries  concerning  him,  and  found  that  he  was  of  a 
family  who  were  his  old  neighbors  and  friends,  not  far 
from  his  childhood's  home.  He  was  at  a  blacksmith 
shop,  where  he  had  got  a  plowshare  repaired  ;  and  was 
starting  home,  when  Coleman  yelled  some  insulting  re- 
mark at  him,  and  he  turned  around,  and  was  instantly 
shot  dead. 

When  the  news  was  sent  out,  Major  J.  B.  Abbott,  S. 
N.  Wood,  S.  F.  Tappan,  J.  B.  Kennedy,  Wm.  Meirs, 
and  several  others ,  held  an  indignation  meeting  near  the 
scene  of  the  murder  ;  and,  as  they  were  returning  home, 
they  heard  of  Branson's  capture,  and  that  he  was  being 
taken  to  Lecompton,  where  death  probably  awaited  him, 
and  they  rescued  him  from  the  bogus  sheriff  and  his 
posse,  the  two  parties  being  about  equal  in  numbers; 
and  war  in  earnest  began. 

Gen.  Lane  took  charge  of  the  orgaization  and  drilling 
of  troops.  His  energy  was  indomitable  and  he  seemed 
ubiquitous.  The  besieging  army,  most  of  them  from 
Missouri,  were  soon  found  to  consist  of  twelve  hundred 
men  ;  while  the  Free-State  men  rallied  but  about  half 
that  number.  A  plan  of  fortification  was  resorted  to. 
Lane  planned  and  ordered  forts  or  earthworks — rifle  pits, 
perhaps,  is  the  best  description — and  with  half  their 


52  THE    PLAN    OF    BATTLE. 

number,  defied  them.  Everyman  did  his  duty  ;  but  the 
name  of  Lane  was  a  terror,  wherever  it  was  heard.  Mis- 
souri had  furnished  many  troops  to  the  Mexican  war — 
New  England  but  few ;  and  more  men  in  the  ranks  of 
our  enemies  knew  of  his  prowess,  than  had  aver  heard 
of  him  in  our  lines  till  he  lead  us  in  battle  array. 

In  these  rifle  pits,  the  men  worked  with  great  energy. 
They  were  located  as  follows,  as  nearly  as  I  can  describe 
them  now :  One  in  the  middle  of  the  crossing  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Henry  streets  ;  one  in  the  middle  of  Massa- 
chusetts street, about  four  hundred  feet  north  of  Winthrop 
street ;  one  in  the  middle  of  New  Hampshire  street,  about 
half  way  between  Winthrop  and  Henry  streets  ;  and  one 
on  Vermont  street,  about  halfway  between  Winthrop  and 
Henry  streets.  They  were  circular  in  form,  about  sev- 
enty-five feet  in  diameter,  five  feet  high,  and  three  feet 
wide  at  the  summit. 

This  was  practically  then  the  business  centre  of  Law- 
rence— the  whole  place  a  mere  hamlet.  The  distance 
between  the  rifle  pits  on  Massachusetts  street  was  eleven 
hundred  feet — between  those  on  New  Hampshire  and 
Vermont  street  six  hundred  feet.  Massachusetts  street 
was  pretty  well  built  up  within  the  lines  of  these  forts  ; 
the  Free-State  Hotel,  now  the  Eldridge  House,  was  a 
heavy  stone  building  ;  adjoining  the  now  Journal  build- 
ing, was  the  Dr.  Leibey  building,  substantial  stone  ;  near 
the  north  fort,  the  substantial  stone  building  of  G.  W. 
Hutchinson,  and  I  think  the  stone  building  of  B.  W  & 
Phillip  Woodward,  partly  up;  with  wooden  buildings, 


"on,  LADIES;  PLEASE  EXCUSE  us."  53 

more  or  less  substantial,  nearly  inclosing  the  whole  dis- 
tance. This  was  planned  for  the  scene  of  the  death 
struggle.  This  was  no  child's  play. 

I  was  in  the  south  intrenchraents,  when  Gen.  Lane, 
taking  a  view  of  the  situation,  rode  up,  and  remarked  : 
"Boys,  you  are  getting  well  ready  for  them."  To  in- 
quiries as  to  the  probabilities  of  attack,  he  said  they 
were  likely  to  come  that  night.  "  They  will  come,"  said 
he,  "yelling  and  screeching,  as  if  hell  had  broken  loose, 
and  all  its  devils  were  upon  you.  Keep  cool.  Be  ready 
for  them.  Victory  will  be  yours." 

The  situation  was  too  serious  for  levity.  We  could 
hear  the  cannon  of  the  enemy  at  Franklin,  their  head- 
quarters. We  fired  none,  though  we  had  one ;  but  the 
object  was  to  let  its  first  voice  be  heard  raking  Massa- 
chusetts street  when  the  assault  came.  Some  of  the  men 
were  shooting  at  floating  objects  in  the  river  ;  when  the 
order  came,  "Waste  no  powder  in  the  river — save  it  for 
the  enemy."  There  was  a  question  of  powder  ;  and  two 
brave  women,  Mrs.  Lois  Brown  and  Mrs.  Margaret 
Wood,  volunteered  to  go  through  the  enemy's  lines  to  the 
Wakarusa,  and  returned  with  two  kegs  of  powder  under 
the  buggy  seat.  As  the}r  returned,  the  word  rang  out, 
"  Halt !"  three  men  advanced,  and,  observing  the  ladies, 
merely  remarked,  politely  bowing  :  ' '  Oh,  ladies,  please 
excuse  us  ;  pass  on." 

This  is  the  way  we  got  the  cannon :  When  the  siege 
commenced,  there  was  an  eight-pound  howitzer  in  the 
warehouse,  at  Kansas  City  ;  and  two  young  men,  Messrs. 


54.  HOW   WE    GOT   THE    CANNON. 

Buffum  and  Simmer,  (a  relative  of  Senator  Sumner,) 
volunteered  to  take  a  team  and  bring  it  up.  It  was  closely 
boxed.  They  went  and  came  by  the  north  side  of  the 
Kansas  river,  through  an  Indian  reservation,  mostly 
wilderness.  As  I  belonged  to  the  cavalry  company,  I 
was  notified  that  picked  men  were  wanted  for  a  danger- 
ous expedition.  We  were  led  by  that  gallant  man,  Col. 
James  Blood.  We  forded  the  Kasas  river,  in  preference 
to  ferrying,  to  know  where  to  cross,  on  the  return,  "  on 
the  double  quick,"  in  the  case  of  a  retreat.  We  had 
scarcely  got  out  of  the  limits  of  the  present  North  Law- 
rence, when  one  of  our  company  remembered  that  he 
belonged  to  a  committee,  and  ought  to  be  exempt.  I 
have  never  heard  the  language  with  which  Blood  drove 
him  back  into  the  ranks  used  in  pulpit  oratory.  We  had 
heard  that  a  Pro- Slavery  body  had  crossed  the  river  op- 
posite Franklin,  then  the  headquarters  of  the  Pro-Slavery 
hosts.  We  met  the  brave  boys  with  the  cannon  just  on 
the  east  side  of  Mud  creek,  four  miles  northeast  of  Law- 
rence, and  it  was  safely  brought  to  town,  with  no  attempt 
to  hinder.  Poor,  brave  Bob  Buffum  was  hung  at  Atlanta 
as  a  spy.  He  might  have  been  a  spy,  but  he  died  as 
"  gamey  "  as  John  Brown. 

At  the  Wyandot  ferry  of  the  Kansas  river,  a  body  of 
Pro-Slavery  men  were  politely  asked  to  assist  the  team  by 
lifting  on  the  wheels,  to  ascend  the  steep  hill  up  the  river 
bank.  They  peaked  through  the  cracks  of  the  boxes, 
saw  some  bright  brass,  pronounced  it  a  Yankee  cultiva- 
tor, and  pushed  on  it  like  heroes. 


THE  GRATITUDE  OF  REPUBLICS.  55 

Again  Captain  Blood  called  to  saddles :  this  time  in 
pursuit  of  the  murderers  of  Barber  ;  but  they  fled  to  the 
pro-slavery  camp  beyond  all  hopes  of  capture.  The  pol- 
icy of  the  people  was  that  of  defense.  Regard  for  human 
life,  as  against  a  foe  of  more  than  double  their  numbers, 
dictated  that  policy.  This  aggravating  murder  aroused 
our  people  to  a  state  of  frenzy,  and  they  were  ready  for 
the  fray.  Sound  policy  dictated  otherwise.  We  were 
appealing  to  the  sympathy  of  mankind  in  our  great  dis- 
tress ;  and  we  could  not  afford  to  assume  even  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  aggressor.  I  believe  we  could  have  met 
them  in  the  entrenchments  and  have  conquered  them ; 
but  we  were  at  fearful  disadvantages,  with  three  hun- 
dred miles  between  us  and  hopes  of  re-enforcements,  and 
all  Missouri  upon  our  borders. 

The  people  of  Kansas  have  done  themselves  great 
honor  in  honoring  this  humble  patriot  farmer,  "his  hut 
covered  with  snow,"  as  he  went  down  to  death  for  hu- 
man liberty,  the  first  martyr  after  the  first  organized 
forces  got  into  battle  line  to  "  make  this  country  all  slave, 
or  all  free."  They  have  repelled  the  libel  of  thrones,  au- 
tocrats and  tyrants,  that  "republics  are  ungrateful,"  by 
inscribing  his  name  on  a  tablet  of  gold  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  naming  a  county  of  the  State  in  his 
honor;  but,  perhaps,  the  greater  honor  has  been  con- 
ferred upon  his  memory  by  "  the  bard  of  freedom," 
John  G.  Whittier,  in  his  pathetic  poem,  "  The  Burial  of 
Barber,"  which  will  be  read  as  long  as  freedom  has  a 
votary : 


66  THE   TRIBUTE   OF   FREEDOM'S   POET. 

BURIAL  OF  BARBER. 


Bear  him,  comi-ades,  to  his  grave : 
Never  over  one  more  brave 

Shall  the  prairie  grasses  weep, 
In  the  ages  yet  to  come, 
When  the  millions  in  our  room, 

"What  we  sow  in  tears,  shall  reap. 

Bear  him  up  the  icy  hill, 
With  the  Kansas,  frozen  still 

As  his  noble  heart,  below, 
And  the  land  he  came  to  till 
With  a  freeman's  thews  and  will, 

And  his   poor  hut  roofed  with 
snow! 

One  more  look  of  that  dead  face, 
Of  his  murder's  ghastly  trace ! 

One  more  kiss,  O  widowed  one  I 
Lay  your  left  hands  on  his  brow, 
Lift  your  right  hands  up,  and  vow 

That  his  work  shall  yet  be  done. 

Patience,  friends !    The  eye  of  God 
Every  path  by  murder  trod 

Watches,  lidless,  day  and  night; 
And  the  dead  man  in  his  shroud, 
And  his  widow  weeping  loud, 

And  our  hearts  are  in  his  sight. 

Every  deadly  threat  that  swells 
With  the  roar  of  gambling  hells, 

Every  brutal  jest  and  jeer, 
Every  wicked  thought  and  plan 
Of  the  cruel  heart  of  man, 

Though  but  whispered,  He  can 
hear ! 

We  in  suffering,  they  in  crime, 
Wait  the  just  award  of  time, 

Wait  the  vengeance  that  is  due ; 
Not  in  vain  a  heart  shall  break, 
Not  a  tear  for  freedom's  sake 

Fall  unheeded:  God  is  true. 


While  the  flag  with  stars  bedecked 
Threatens  where  it  should  protect, 

And  the  law  shakes  hands  with 

Crime, 

What  is  left  us  but  to  wait, 
Match  our  patience  to  our  fate, 

And  abide  the  better  time  ? 

Patience,   friends  !     The  human 

heart 
Everywhere  shall  take  our  part, 

Everywhere  for  us  shall  pray  ; 
On  our  side  are  nature's  laws, 
And  God's  life  is  in  the  cause 

That  we  suffer  for  to-day. 

Well  to  suffer  is  divine  ; 

Pass  the  watchword  down  the  line, 

Pass  the  countersign  :  '  ENDURE  !' 
Not  to  him  who  rashly  dares, 
But  to  him  who  nobly  bears, 

Is  the  victor's  garland  sure. 

Frozen  earth  to  frozen  breast, 
Lay  our  slain  one  down  to  re?t ; 

Lay  him  down  in  hope  and  faith, 
And  above  the  broken  sod, 
Once  again,  to  Freedom's  God, 

Pledge  ourselves  for  life  or  death 

That  the  State  whose  walls  we  lay, 
In  our  blood  and  tears,  t  »-day,  ) 

Shall  be  free  from  bonds  of  shame, 
And  our  goodly  land  untrod 
By  the  feet  of  slavery,  shod 
With  cursing  as  with  lame ! 

Plant  the  Buckeye  on  '..is  grave, 
For  the  hunter  of  the  slave 

In  its  shadow  cannot  rest ; 
And  let  martyr  mound  and  tree 
Be  our  pledge  and  guaranty 

Of  the  freedom  of  the  West  I 


A    DANGEROUS    NIGHT'S    RIDE.  57 

There  was  a  great  struggle  for  food,  and  many  of  the 
people  were  living  upon  chopped  wheat,  with  the  bran  in 
it.  As  the  men  were  making  the  dirt  fly  in  the  trenches, 
along  came  that  patriotic  old  Irishman,  Mr.  James  Mc- 
Gee.  Looking  at  them  a  few  moments,  he  exclaimed  : 
"Work  away,  boys ;  work  away;  there  are  two  thou- 
sand bushels  of  corn  in  Jimmy  McGee's  cribs,  and  while 
there  is  a  bushel  left,  you  shall  not  starve  !"  That  little 
speech  sent  him  to  the  Legislature. 

A  night  ride,  and  a  dangerous  one,  was  that,  as 
skirmishers  patrolling  the  California  road,  from  near 
Franklin*  westward,  up  past  where  the  State  University 
now  stands,  a  beat  of  three  miles,  back  and  forth,  under 
the  command  of  Col.  Wm.  Y.  Roberts.  We  advanced 
too  near  the  pickets  of  the  enemy,  and  were  halted  by 
the  guards.  We  had,  however,  but  a  quiet  talk  with 
them,  and  returned  westward.  About  due  south  of 
Pennsylvania  street,  we  met  a  man  in  the  darkness,  who 
sheared  off  to  the  north  side  of  us,  failing  to  regard  the 
word  ' '  halt ! ' '  ' '  Who  are  you  ?  We  don 't  want  to  hurt 
you,"  shouted  Roberts.  He  answered  :  "  I  am  an  Amer- 
ican citizen;"  but  went  on.  Roberts'  command  was: 
"  You  men  in  the  rear,  halt  that  man."  As  I  was  in 
the  rear,  I  made  the  effort,  wheeling  my  horse,  and  get- 
ting up  to  him,  neck  and  neck  with  my  horse  and  his 
mule.  As  I  was  a  little  behind  him,  on  his  left  side,  I 

*As  Franklin  is  frequently  mentioned,  and  has  no  existence  as  a 
town  now,  it  may  be  proper  to  state,  that  it  was  a  village  from  three 
to  four  miles  southeast  of  Lawrence,  taken  possession  of  by  the  Pro- 
Slavery  forces,  as  headquarters. 


58  GEN.    RICHARDSON    DINES    WITH    LANE. 

could  have  broken  his  back,  or  his  skull,  with  my 
Sharp's  rifle ;  but  no  one  had  any  desire  to  kill  him,  or 
even  hurt  him  ;  and  I  attempted  to  grasp  his  mule's 
bridle,  when  he  drew  a  large  horse-pistol  on  me,  and,  as 
I  relaxed  on  the  bridle,  wheeled  to  the  right,  and  fired, 
and  shots  were  exchanged  as  he  got  away.  Another  man 
coming  up,  says  :  "  I  believe  I  can  bring  him, "  and  fired 
away.  We  had  let  him  pass  us  entirely,  and  if  he  had 
politely  told  us  any  kind  of  a  reasonable  story,  we  should 
have  bade  him  "  good  night,"  and  allowed  him  to  pass 
on  his  way  in  peace.  The  next  day,  we  learned  that  he 
\vas  Coleman,  the  murderer  of  Dow,  and  all  his  conduct 
was  accounted  for.  We  were  too  near  the  enemy's  lines 
for  pursuit.  The  mule  was  shot  through  the  flank  with 
a  Sharp's  rifle  ball,  and  died  the  next  day  ;  but  Coleman 
reported  that  the  shot  greatly  accelerated  its  speed.  Of 
course  the  murderer,  if  we  had  taken  him,  would  have 
been  likely  to  have  been  hung. 

Much  has  been  said  about  the  "  first  shot  of  the  war." 
Was  this  the  first?  To  the  people  in  the  East,  it  is  hard 
to  realize  that  absolute  war  actually  prevailed  anywhere 
until  Sumter  w^as  fired  upon,  but  in  Kansas  the  blood  of 
many  martyrs,  and  the  lurid  flames  of  many  dwellings, 
testified  that  war  existed,  with  all  its  consequences,  from 
1855  till  1865. 

Let  us  try  further  for  the  first  acts  of  the  war.  Gen. 
Lane  was  at  Topeka  immediately  after  the  murder  of 
Dow,  and  had  no  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  for 
two  or  three  days  beyond  the  rumors  always  afloat  under 


FIRST    LETTER    OF    THE    WAR.  59 

such  circumstances.  He  leaves  Topeka  on  the  30th  of 
November,  probably  one  of  his  usual  night  rides,  and  on 
the  first  day  of  December,  invites  Gen.  Richardson  to 
dine  with  him  ;  and  then  writes  '*  The  First  Letter  of 
the  War,"  as  follows,  fac  simile  reduced: 


^^Z^-z^^c^-tZ?    JJUn^ 


CO  DR.    AINSWORTH    WITH    "THE    BAGGAGE. 


•t/     —  ^TT^-^^-^^Z-*-^ 


This  may  very  properly,  we  think,  be  claimed  as  the 
first  letter  written  having  any  relation  to  the  war  for 
slavery.  Let  us  epitomize  history  :  The  Civil  War  orig- 
inated on,  in  and  over  Kansas.  Gov.  Shannon's  procla- 
mation of  war,  November  29,  1855 — Gen.  Lane  atTopeka 
November  30,  hurries  to  Lawrence  that  night,  writes  the 
foregoing  letter  December  1 ,  the  two  armies  stand  in 


HISTORY    EPITOMIZED.  61 

battle  array  December  2 — Pro-Slavery  forces  at  Franklin 
besieging  Lawrence,  Lane  in  command  at  Lawrence,  his 
troops  in  line  of  battle  under  drill,  and  large  details  of 
men  making  entrenchments  for  defense.  The  war,  thus 
commenced,  that  day,  never  was  relinquished  till  after 
Lincoln  proclaimed  emancipation,  and  Lee  surrendered 
at  Appomattox. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this,  on  December  2,  Major-General 
Richardson  and  his  staff,  dined  with  Lane,  while  on  their 
way  to  Lecompton,  under  orders  to  annihilate  the  town. 
What  their  conversation  was  is  not  known ;  but  Lane 
was  a  diplomatist,  and  what  they  got  out  of  him  was 
undoubtedly  more  valuable  to  our  side  for  its  inaccura- 
cies than  advantageous  to  the  enemy.  They  probably 
fi  swopped  lies,"  Lane  getting  "the  boot." 

The  conflict  was  remarkable  for  the  harmony  of  the 
Free-State  leaders.  I  was  with  the  pickets  on  the  outer 
line  when  Lane  and  Robinson  passed  it  going  to  a  con- 
ference with  the  Pro-Slavery  leaders  at  Franklin,  and 
hailed  them  as  they  advanced  on  their  return.  They 
signed  the  terms,  and  I  heard  of  no  disagreement  among 
leaders,  except  with  John  Brown,  who  was  bitter  against 
any  settlement,  determined  to  fight  to  the  death. 

The  letter  to  Dr.  Ainsworth  is  highly  significant.  In 
"•Kansas  Historical  Collections,"  Vol.  4,  page  413,  will 
be  found  an  account  of  a  pretended  expose  of  a  secret 
society,  by  Dr.  A.  J.  Francis,  in  which  he  says  : 

At  public  gatherings,  if  there  is  danger,  a  member  or  officer  arises, 
and  asks  as  follows:  "Is  Dr.  Starr  present?  If  so,  he  is  wanted  at 


62  TREATY    OF    PEACE. 


,"  (naming  the  place ;)  and  it  is  the  duty  of  members  to  repair 

to  that  place  without  attracting  any  attention  whatever  from  any 
other  person,  in  all  cases  taking  their  arms  with  them. 

Dr.  Starr  was  promptly  on  hand  with  "  the  baggage." 
Of  course,  as  I  have  said,  there  was  dissatisfaction 
with  Lane  as  to  his  political  record ;  but  his  military 
conduct  of  the  campaign  won  the  applause  of  all  parties  ; 
and  he  was  hailed  as  the  military  leader  who  had  saved 
us  from  annihilation. 

The  Treaty  of  Peace  is  annexed,  that  all  may  judge  of 
the  terms  of  settlement : 

WHEREAS,  There  is  a  misunderstanding  between  the  People  of  Kan- 
/sas,  or  a  portion  of  them,  and  the  Governor  thereof,  arising  out  of  the 
rescue,  near  Hickory  Point,  of  a  citizen  under  arrest,  and  some  other 
matters ; 

AND  WHEREAS,  A  strong  apprehension  exists  that  said  misunder- 
standing may  lead  to  civil  strife: 

AND  WHEREAS,  It  is  desired  by  both  Governor  Shannon  and  the  cit- 
izens of  Lawrence  and  vicinity  to  avert  a  calamity  so  disastrous  to 
the  interests  of  the  Territory  and  the  Union  ;  and  to  place  all  parties 
in  a  correct  position  before  the  world  ;  now,  therefore,  it  is  agreed  by 
the  said  Governor  Shannon  and  the  undersigned,  citizens  of  said  Ter- 
ritory, in  Lawrence  now  assembled,  that  the  matter  now  in  dispute  be 
settled  as  follows,  to  wit : 

WE,  the  said  citizens  of  said  Territory,  protest  that  the  said  rescue 
was  made  without  our  knowledge  or  consent ;  but  that  if  any  of  the 
citizens  of  the  town  of  Lawrence  have  engaged  in  said  rescue,  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  any  LEGAL  process  against 
them.  That  we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  previous,  present  or  pros- 
pective existence  of  any  organization  in  said  Territory  for  the  resist- 
ance of  the  laws  ;  and  that  we  have  not  designed  and  do  not  design  to 
resist  the  LEGAL  service  of  any  criminal  process  therein  ;  but  pledge 
ourselves  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  the  laws,  when  called  upon  by 
the  proper  authority  in  the  town  or  vicinity  of  Lawrence ;  and  that 


PEACE    RESTORED.  63 

we  will  use  our  influence  in  preserving  order  therein  ;  and  we  declare 
that  we  are  now,  as  we  always  have  been,  ready  at  any  time  to  aid  the 
Governor  in  securing  a  posse  for  the  execution  of  such  process :  Pro- 
vided, That  any  person  thus  arrested  in  Lawrence  or  vicinity  while  a 
foreign  force  shall  remain  in  the  Territory,  shall  be  duly  examined 
before  a  United  States  District  Judge  of  said  Territory,  in  said  town, 
and  admitted  to  bail.  And  provided  further,  that  all  citizens  arrested 
without  legal  process,  by  said  sheriff's  posse,  shall  be  set  at  liberty. 
And  provided  further,  that  Governor  Shannon  agrees  to  use  his  influ- 
ence to  secure  to  the  citizens  of  Kansas  Territory  remuneration  for 
any  damages  suffered,  or  unlawful  depredations,  if  any  have  been 
committed  by  the  sheriff's  posse  in  Douglas  county.  And  further, 
Governor  Shannon  states  that  he  has  not  called  upon  persons  resident 
in  any  State,  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  the  laws,  and  that  such  as  are 
here  in  the  Territory  are  here  of  their  own  choice,  and  that  he  does 
not  consider  that  he  has  any  authority  or  legal  power  so  to  do,  nor 
will  he  exercise  any  such  power.  And  that  he  will  not  call  on  any 
citizens  of  any  other  State  who  may  be  here.  That  we  wish  it  under- 
stood that  we  do  not  express  any  opinion  as  to  the  enactments  of  the 
Territorial  Legislature.  WILSON  SHANNON, 

C.  ROBINSON, 
J.  H.  LANE. 

The  gist  of  this  document  is  :  "  That  we  wish  it  under- 
stood that  we  do  not  express  any  opinion  as  to  the  enact- 
ments of  the  Territorial  Legislature."  This  dividing 
line  must  be  kept  in  view  always,  by  all  men,  that  that 
Territorial  iniquity  is  never  to  be  tolerated.  And  then, 
on  the  part  of  the  Governor,  is  the  admission  that  the 
force  against  us  was  an  invading  enemy,  the  protest  that 
they  were  here  without  his  authority,  the  promise  that 
they  should  never  be  used  again,  and  finally,  through 
his  order,  the  whole  power  of  the  United  States,  arrayed 
under  the  American  flag,  to  drive  them  from  the  soil 


64  LANE    UNDER    UNITED    STATES    ORDERS. 

which  they  had  desecrated  ;  and  on  the  part  of  the  peo- 
]>]»'  was  the  promise  of  obedience  to  United  States  courts, 
loyalty  to  a  flag  which  it  was  always  the  pride  of  every 
true  KANSAN  to  swear  by. 

It  has  been  said,  and  often  repeated,  and  there  are  still 
men  who  assert  the  truth  qf  the  statement,  that  Lane  got 
a  high  public  functionary  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  and 
partook  pretty  freely  himself  to  do  it,  while  others  say 
he  drank  out  of  the  wrong  bottle,  and  was  not  hilarious 
from  over-stimulation,  in  order  to  secure  the  following 
document : 

To  C.  ROBINSON  AND  J.  H.  LANE,  Commanders  of  the  Enrolled  Citi- 
zens of  Lawrence : 

You  are  hereby  authorized  and  directed  to  take  such  measures  and 
use  the  enrolled  force  under  your  command  in  such  manner  for  the 
preservation  of  the  peace  and  the  protection  of  the  persons  and  prop- 
erty of  the  people  in  Lawrence  and  vicinity  as  in  your  judgment  shall 
best  secure  that  end.  WILSON  SHANNON. 

LAWRENCE,  December  9,  1855. 

It  will  be  seen  here,  that  Gov.  Shannon  had  been 
brought  to  a  clear  realization  of  the  situation.  The  very 
presence  of  his  troops  was  evidence  that  they  were  not  a 
body  of  Kansas  citizens  who  were  running  riot  against 
the  laws  ;  but  a  body  of  insurgents  from  Missouri,  thirst- 
ing for  the  blood  of  innocent  men.  In  fact,  Shannon 
was  naturally  a  humane  man ;  but,  as  he  advanced 
through  Missouri,  on  his  mission  as  chief  executive  of 
Kansas,  he  was  misled  by  false  accusations  against  the 
"abolitionists"  as  law-breakers;  but  he  had  never  be- 
fore seen  his  "  army"  in  battle  array,  and  when  he  dis- 


THE    WAKARUSA    WAR    ENDED.  65 

covered  that  not  one-tenth  of  them  were  bona  fide  citizens 
of  the  realm  he  was  commissioned  to  govern,  self-respect 
compelled  him  to  declare  that  ' '  he  has  not  called  upon 
persons  resident  in  any  State,  to  aid  in  the  execution  of 
the  laws,  and  that  such  persons  as  are  here  in  the  Terri- 
tory are  here  of  their  own  choice,"  and  he  admits  that 
he  has  no  legal  power  to  call  on  them ,  and  promises  that 
he  will  not  "  exercise  any  such  power."  The  Free-State 
men  conceded  no  important  point,  but  the  high  contract- 
ing parties  expressly  declared  :  ' '  We  do  not  express  any 
opinion  as  to  the  enactments  of  the  Territorial  Legisla- 
ture." 

It  was  not  ten  minutes  after  Lane  got  this  order,  till 
he  was  in  the  streets  in  great  glee,  exclaiming  that  we 
were  now  "United  States  dragoons,"  addressing  the 
ragged  battallion  of  Free-State  horsemen,  and  calling 
them  "  into  line  for  action."  He  had  represented  truly, 
that  a  horde  of  invaders  were  hovering  around  for  mas- 
sacre and  depredation,  and  the  John  Gilpin  ride  which 
we  gave  them,  in  the  direction  of  the  Missouri  line,  was 
more  amusing  than  dangerous.  And  thus  ended  the 
Wakarusa  War. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SPEECHES    THAT    STILL    SPEAK. 

The  first  conflict  in  the  struggle  against  the  despotism 
of  the  slave-power  having  so  propitiously  terminated, 
comparative  peace  reigned,  and  preparations  were  being 
made  for  the  severities  of  what  turned  out  to  be  the  se- 
verest winter  Kansas  ever  experienced  ;  and  the  struggle 
against  want  and  the  elements  was  a  desperate  one. 
The  elements  of  discord  were  greatly  subdued  by  our 
sufferings  on  the  brink  of  destruction,  and  the  guerdon 
of  noble  deeds,  well  done,  was  almost  universally 
awarded  to  Gen.  Lane  for  services  which  no  other  man 
could  have  given — not  because  there  were  not  men  there 
as  patriotic  and  as  self-sacrificing — but  because  of  a  war 
experience  which  no  other  man  possessed.  That  spirit 
of  gratitude  always  born  of  trouble  went  out  from  every 
heart,  to  the  greatest  and  the  humblest  participant  in 
our  preservation. 

The  first  martyr  of  the  war  was  buried  temporarily  ; 
but  on  the  15th  of  December,  a  public  funeral  was  given 
to  the  remains  of  the  lamented  Barber,  at  which  Rev. 
L.  B.  Dennis  officiated,  and  Lane  and  Robinson  made 


THE    MEED    OF    PRAISE. 


67 


short  speeches.  It  is  a  misfortune  to  posterity  that  these 
speeches  were  not  all  reported.  Mrs.  Hannah  A.  Ropes, 
a  ministering  angel  in  all  our  troubles,  a  woman  of  cul- 
ture, of  great  descriptive  powers,  but  with  all  the  New 
England  prejudices  cigainst  Lane  emphasized  in  her 
heart,  has  written  an  incomparably  graphic  account 
of  that  funeral,  in  which  she  has  immortalized  Lane  in 
five  words  :  "Even  Colonel  Lane  did  well."  To  know 
Mrs.  Ropes  and  read  that,  is  to  impress  the  reader  with 
a  funeral  oration  of  great  power,  pathos  and  eloquence. 
On  the  llth  of  December,  the  volunteer  companies 
took  their  departure  for  their  homes,  after  being  ad- 
dressed by  Generals  Robinson  and  Lane,  in  speeches 
which  still  speak  the  unbiased  history  of  the  times  : 

SPEECH    OP   GEN.  CHARLES    ROBINSON. 

From  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  December  15,  1855. 

FELLOW  SOLDIERS:  In  consequence  of  a  "misunderstanding"  on  the 
part  of  the  Executive  of  this  Territory,  the  people  of  this  vicinity  have 
been  menaced  by  a  foreign  foe,  and  our  lives  and  property  threatened 
with  destruction.  The  citizens,  guilty  of  no  crime,  rallied  for  the  de- 
fense of  their  families,  their  property,  and  their  lives,  and  from  all 
parts  of  the  Territory  the  true  patriots  came  up,  resolved  to  perish  in 
the  defense  of  their  most  sacred  rights,  rather  than  submit  to  foreign 
dictation.  Lawrence  and  her  citizens  were  the  first  to  be  sacrificed, 
and  most  nobly  have  her  neighbors  come  to  her  rescue.  The  moral 
strength  of  our  position  was  such  that  even  the  "gates of  hell"  could 
not  prevail  against  us,  much  less  a  foreign  mob,  and  we  gained  a 
bloodless  victory.  Literally  may  it  be  said  of  our  citizens,  "  they 
came,  they  saw,  they  conquered." 

Selected  as  your  commander,  it  becomes  my  cheerful  duty  to  ten- 
der to  you,  fellow-soldiers,  the  meed  of  praise  so  justly  your  due. 
Never  did  true  men  unite  in  a  holier  cause,  and  never  did  true  bravery 


68  ENTITLED   TO   THE    DEEPEST   GRATITUDE. 

appear  more  conspicuous,  than  in  the  ranks  of  our  little  army.  Death 
before  dishonor  was  visible  in  every  countenance,  and  felt  by  every 
heart.  Bloodless  though  the  contest  has  been,  there  are  not  wanting 
instances  of  heroism  worthy  of  a  more  chivalric  age.  To  the  experi- 
ence, skill  and  perseverance  of  the  gallant  Gen.  Lane  all  credit  is  due, 
for  the  thorough  discipline  of  our  forces,  and  the  complete  and  exten- 
sive preparations  for  defense.  His  services  cannot  be  overrated  ;  and 
long  may  he  live  to  wear  the  laurels  so  bravely  won.  Others  are  wor- 
thy of  special  praise  for  distinguished  services,  and  all,  both  officers 
and  privates,  are  entitled  to  the  deepest  gratitude  of  the  people.  In 
behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Lawrence,  in  behalf  of  the  ladies  of  Lawrence, 
in  behalf  of  the  children  of  Lawrence,  in  behalf  of  your  fellow-soldiers 
of  Lawrence,  and  in  my  own  behalf,  I  thank  you  of  the  neighboring 
settlements  for  your-  prompt  and  manly  response  to  our  call  for  aid, 
and  pledge  you  a  like  response  to  your  signals  of  distress.  The  citizens 
who  have  left  their  homes,  to  come  to  our  assistance,  have  suffered 
great  privations  and  many  discomforts  and  expenses,  while  the  citi- 
zens of  Lawrence  have  incurred  heavy  expenses ;  but  all  has  been 
submitted  to  without  a  murmur,  and  in  a  spirit  worthy  of  a  people 
engaged  in  a  high  and  holy  cause. 

The  war  is  ended,  our  duties  are  discharged,  and  it  only  remains 
for  me,  with  the  warmest  affection  for  every  soldier  in  this  conflict, 
to  bid  you  adieu,  and  dismiss  you,  to  go  again  to  the  bosoms  of  your 
families. 

SPEECH    OF    GEN.    JAMES    H.    LANE. 

From  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  December  15,  1855. 

FELLOW  SOLDIERS:  You  assembled  to  vindicate  the  right — to  defend 
this  city  and  inhabitants  of  the  Territory  against  threatened  destruc- 
tion. 

Well  and  gallantly  have  you  discharged  that  duty.  The  tocsin  of 
war  is  no  longer  heard  from  the  beseiging  army  ;  they  have  returned 
across  the  border  from  whence  they  came  ;  our  fortifications  are  not 
demolished;  those  beautiful  buildings  still  remain  to  ornament  our 
city,  and  accommodate  our  citizens.  You  still  retain  the  rifles  you 
know  so  well  how  to  use.  The  ladies — God  bless  them ! — are  still 
among  us,  to  encourage  manly  and  chivalric  deeds. 


THE    FEARFUL   CRISIS   PASSED.  69 

You  have  won  a  glorious  victory  by  your  industry,  skill,  courage 
and  forbearance.  In  these  fortifications,  wrought  as  if  by  magic,  you 
took  your  position,  there  determined  never  to  surrender  while  a  man 
was  left  alive  to  pull  a  trigger ;  with  a  desperate  and  wily  foe  almost 
in  your  midst,  you  restrained  your  fire — determined  to  continue  them 
in  the  wrong,  and  compel  them  to  commence  hostilities — to  take  all 
the  responsibility  of  a  battle  which  you  believed  would  shake  the 
Union  to  its  very  basis.  The  beseiging  army  had  time  to  ascertain  our 
true  position — found  that  position  just  and  honorable  ;  that  there  was 
no  good  cause  of  complaint  against  us ;  and  having  marched  into  Kan- 
sas, marched  out  again,  leaving  us  occupying  the  identical  position  we 
did  when  the  invasion  was  made. 

While  congratulating  ourselves  upon  our  success,  let  us  not  forget 
the  gallant  Barber,  who  fell  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty.  He  was  a 
noble  spirit,  worthy  of  the  cause  for  which  he  bled.  Had  he  fallen 
upon  the  battle  field  in  manly  combat,  we  could  not  have  complained. 
While  we  forgive,  we  cannot  forget  his  cowardly  and  brutal  murder. 
Long  may  his  manly  bearing  be  remembered  by  all  true  men. 

For  the  honor  you  have  conferred  upon  me,  in  electing  me  to  the 
position  I  hold,  you  have  my  thanks.  The  duties  I  was  called  upon  to 
discharge  were  arduous.  I  have  endeavored  faithfully  to  discharge 
them  ;  you  are  the  judges  as  to  the  success  of  my  efforts ;  to  your  de- 
cision, I  cheerfully  submit. 

From  Major-General  Robinson  I  received  that  council  and  advice 
which  characterizes  him  as  a  clear-headed,  cool  and  trustworthy  com- 
mander. He  is  entitled  to  your  confidence  and  esteem. 

The  officers  associated  with  us  have  discharged  their  duty,  and  are 
entitled  to  your  thanks,  and  the  thanks  of  the  friends  of  human  rights 
throughout  the  world.  They  are  gallant  spirits  worthy  of  you  and 
the  cause  in  which  they  were  engaged. 

For  days  and  weeks  we  were  impressed  with  the  belief  that  our  hands 
were  to  be  imbued  with  the  blood  of  our  brethren,  while  we  were 
determined  manfully  and  to  the  death  to  defend  our  hearth-stones. 
Our  hearts  bled  in  contemplating  the  dreadful  alternative.  The  fear- 
ful crisis  is  passed,  and,  we  earnestly  hope,  never  to  return.  Our 
Missouri  friends  understand  us  and  our  cause  better  than  when  they 


70  THAT    BELOVED    UNION. 

came,  and  will  not  again  permit  themselves  to  be  stirred  up  in  anger 
against  us. 

That  beloved  Union,  for  the  safety  of  which  we  trembled,  will  not 
again  we  trust,  be  imperiled  by  a  foreign  force  from  a  sister  State  in- 
vading our  Territory.  They  must  and  will  see  the  impropriety  and 
injustice  of  meddling  in  our  affairs  until  they  become  our  fellow- 
citizens. 

These  addresses  are  history.  No  pen  can  unwrite  it, 
no  order  expunge  it,  no  besom  of  destruction  sweep  it  from 
the  records.  We  had  just  passed  through  a  fearful  or- 
deal— bloodless,  it  is  true,  with  a  single  illustration  of 
barbarity,  which  would  have  followed  a  victory  on  our 
part,  had  we  achieved  one,  sending  home  to  Missouri  a 
few  scores  dead,  to  aggravate  their  animosities — if  a  more 
merciful  fate  had  awaited  our  defeat.  Every  nerve  had 
been  strained  to  strengthen  our  defenses  and  encourage 
the  men.  On  the  5th  of  December,  Lane  sent  by  dis- 
patch, the  following  to  Hon.  Charles  A.  Foster,  then  of 
Osawatomie,  now  of  Quincy,  Massachusetts  : 

LAWRENCE,  Dec.  5.  1855. 
We  want  every  true  Free-State  man  at  Lawrence  immediately. 

This  is  but  a  specimen.  They  were  sent  everywhere 
where  succor  could  be  hoped  for.  And  then  he  went 
among  the  men,  harranguing  them  with  an  inspiration 
equalling  the  action  of  the  Corsican  at  the  bridge  of 
Lodi. 

The  speech  of  Lane  bristles  with  patriotic  sentiments, 
a  love  of  Kansas  and  of  the  Union,  with  which  his  after 
life  was  adorned  in  the  forum  and  on  the  field. 

There  is  a  wise  provision  of  law,  which  recognizes  as 
the  safest  and  the  sublimest  evidence,  the  statement  of 


LANE'S  SERVICES  CANNOT  BE  OVERRATED.  71 

the  dying  man,  facing  his  God  and  looking  into  Eternity. 
Thus  the  witnesses  stood.  In  its  best  aspects,  a  terrible 
calamity  had  been  but  barely  escaped.  Two  hundred 
miles  and  more  of  as  implacable  an  enemy  as  ever  stood 
in  the  pathway  of  civilization,  were  between  us  and  pos- 
sible hope  of  help,  ready  to  break  out  in  all  the  savagery 
of  the  Lawrence  Massacre.  And  as  long  as  the  story  of 
Kansas  is  told,  it  will  read  : 

"To  THE  EXPERIENCE,  SKILL  AND  PERSEVERANCE  OF  THE  GALLANT 
GENERAL  LANE,  ALL  CREDIT  is  DUE  FOR  THE  THOROUGH  DISCIPLINE 
OF  OUR  FORCES,  AND  THE  COMPLETE  AND  EXTENSIVE  PREPARATIONS 
FOR  DEFENSE.  His  SERVICES  CANNOT  BE  OVERRATED." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CONTINUED    OUTRAGES    IN    THE    WINTER    OF    1855-6. 

Comparative  quiet  prevailed  during  the  winter  of 
1855-6.  The  first  election  of  State  officers  and  the  Leg- 
islature under  the  Topeka  Constitution,  which  took  place 
January  17,  created  considerable  excitement  nearly  all 
over  the  Territory.  In  the  interior  towns,  as  Lawrence, 
Topeka  and  elsewhere,  the  Free-State  party  was  too 
strong  for  successful  opposition.  In  the  river  towns,  as 
Leavenworth,  Atchison,  Wyandotte,  Sumner,  Kickapoo, 
Doniphan,  and  elsewhere,  the  opposition  was  very  bitter , 
and  backed  by  considerable  strength.  At  Easton,  twelve 
miles  west  of  Leavenworth,  a  mob  interfered  with  the 
election ;  and  the  next  day,  Stephen  Sparks  and  his  son, 
Free-State  men,  were  captured  going  home  from  election. 
Capt.  Reese  P.  Brown  went  to  their  assistance,  and  res- 
cued them.  He  and  others  were  captured.  Brown  was 
a  heroic  man,  true  as  firm.  They  released  the  others,  or 
they  got  away  ;  but  they  taunted,  if  they  did  not  assault 
Brown,  a  helpless  prisoner.  I  think  they  did  personally 
insult  him  by  words  and  buffet  him,  to  provoke  him  to 
fight,  which  he  offered  to  do,  if  he  could  have  any  show 


A    PATRIOT    QUIETLY    BURIED.  73 

of  fair  play.  At  any  rate,  the  Pro-Slavery  men  claimed 
he  got  into  a  fight.  He  was  assaulted  and  gashed  with 
hatchets;  and  on  an  excessively  cold  night,  was  jolted 
home  in  a  lumber  wagon,  where  he  was  merely  able  to 
say  to  his  wife  that  he  had  been  "cruelly  murdered 
v*  ithout  a  cause."  He  had  just  previously  participated 
in  the  Wakarusa  War.  I  spent  a  night  of  peril  with 
him  patrolling  the  old  California  road  as  skirmishers. 
He  was  reticent,  as  well  as  a  stranger  personally  to  me, 
though  I  had  heard  of  him.  He  cautioned  me  of  dan- 
ger, and  prevented  me  from  hailing  and  halting  a  man, 
saying  he  was  too  far  off.  The  man  was  undoubtedly  a 
messenger,  carrying  dispatches  between  the  camps  of 
Lecompton  and  Franklin.  Brown  was  a  Kentuckian, 
with  something  of  the  Southern  dialect,  and  I  became 
suspicious  that  he  might  be  a  disguised  enemy,  and  was 
greatly  pleased  when  we  were  relieved  by  change  of 
guards,  and  better  pleased  when  I  found  who  my  com- 
rade was.. 

In  some  places,  the  voters  resorted  to  a  "  pocket 
vote,"  the  election  boards  being  broken  up,  and  the 
judges  going  among  the  people  personally,  and  taking 
their  votes  at  their  homes. 

Two  days  after  his  death,  Brown  was  quietly  buried 
on  Pilot  Knob,  near  Leavenworth,  by  a  few  courageous 
friends.  Notwithstanding  President  Pierce 's  fulmina- 
tion  of  a  special  message  to  Congress,  declaring  the  To- 
peka  government  revolutionary  and  an  act  of  rebellion, 
Gen.  Lane,  as  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee, 


74  LANE    AND    REEDER    ELECTED  SENATORS. 

announced  the  result  of  the  election  by  the  adoption  of 
the  Topeka  Constitution.  Jefferson  Davis,  Secretary  of 
War,  issued  orders,  calling  the  organization  "insurrec- 
tionary," and  commanding  the  officers  to  "  disperse  and 
retire  peaceably ' '  before  they  met .  Nevertheless ,  the 
Legislature  met,  and,  on  the  first  day,  by  unanimous 
vote,  elected  James  H.  Lane  and  Andrew  H.  Reeder 
United  States  Senators,  and  memorialized  Congress  for 
admission  into  the  Union. 

The  threats  of  demolition  and  destruction  against  the 
property  and  lives  of  everybody  daring  in  the  mildest 
manner  to  utter  anti-slavery  sentiments  were  still  kept 
up.  The  Territorial  Register,  a  conservative  Free-State 
paper  at  Leavenworth,  was  thrown  into  the  Missouri 
river,  and  innumerable  outrages  committed  upon  per- 
.-sons  and  property.  To  add  to  the  horrors  of  the  situa- 
tion, the  severest  winter  ever  known  in  Kansas  set  in 
upon  us.  The  day  of  the  convention  to  nominate  State 
officers  (December  22)  was  so  mild  in  the  forenoon  that  the 
assembly  sat  in  comfort  out  of  doors  ;  at  noon  a  storm 
struck  us  with  such  fury  that  we  were  driven  into  the 
unfinished  dining  room  of  the  Free-State  Hotel ;  and  be- 
fore night,  delegates  were  making  desperate  efforts  to 
get  feed  to  their  horses,  tied  in  the  woods,  across  the 
Kansas  river,  with  but  little  success  ;  and  for  years,  the 
gnawed  saplings  were  pointed  to  as  the  poor  beasts'  abode 
of  suffering.  The  next  morning,  men  and  horses  crossed 
on  the  ice.  Snow  fell  to  the  depth  of  two  feet ;  sleds 
were  improvised  for  business,  and  the  sturdy  Northerner 


TO  HARBOR  A  NEGRO,  DEATH.  75 

faced  the  wintry  blasts,  thanked  God  for  the  breezes, 
which  drove  the  Southern  invader  to  his  lair,  to  ruminate 
over  disaster  and  defeat  to  his  cause  ;  and,  even  in  all 
the  distress,  business  revived,  and  the  Kansas  City  and 
Leavenworth  merchant  prospered ;  the  sawmills  re-kin- 
dled their  fires,  and  the  ice  above  where  Bowersock's 
dam  now  turns  the  pent-up  waters  upon  the  machinery 
of  the  city,  was  strewed  with  hundreds  of  logs,  burr-oak, 
black  walnut,  hickory,  hackberry,  linn  and  cotton  wood ; 
and  Col.  Whitman  was  building  a  church,  and  Col. 
Eldridge  was  finishing  a  hotel  for  the  Vice  President  of 
the  United  States  to  batter  down  the  next  May. 

As  we  go  along,  let  us  remember,  that  in  the  civiliza- 
tions of  the  world,  perhaps,  no  such  two  conflicting 
forces  ever  met— certainly  no  two  in  a  republican  form 
of  government  like  ours — as  met  upon  the  plains  of  Kan- 
sas. To  us,  "  slavery  was  the  sum  of  all  villanies  " — to 
them,  it  was  the  apple  of  their  eye,  property  proportion- 
ately more  sacred  than  their  flocks  and  herds  as  it  was 
more  valuable.  To  steal  a  horse,  morally  speaking,  was 
petty  larceny  ;  to  steal  a  negro,  embraced  the  concrete  of 
all  the  crimes — piracy,  robbery,  murder,  rapine — and, 
therefore,  they  furnished  the  proof  of  this  theory  by  a 
solemn  statutory  enactment  making  it  death  to  feed  or 
harbor  a  negro,  while  the  mere  expression  that  he  might 
be  free  was  punishable  by  hard  labor  in  the  penitentiary 
not  less  than  two  years,  and  on  indefinitely,  tempered 
only  by  the  temerity  of  the  offender,  or  the  mercy  of  a 
court  which  such  lawmakers  might  constitute  ;  but  that 


76  COURTS   TOO    SLOW. 

law  was  backed  by  a  public  sentiment  which  waited  not 
upon  the  tedium  of  courts,  but  "  hung  the  accused  first, 
and  tried  him  afterwards,"  as  they  did  Jacob  Cantrel,  a 
Missourian,  for  "treason  to  Missouri,"  because  he  in- 
scribed on  his  wagon  cover  "  Kansas  a  Free  State  ;"  or 
as  Fugit  shot  and  scalped  Hoppe.  It  was  .the  survival 
of  the  fittest. 

I  have  referred  to  what  might  have  been  the  eventual 
result  of  a  victory  in  the  Wakarusa  War.  I  believe,  in 
case  of  an  attack  within  our  entrenchments,  the  battle 
would  have  been  ours  ;  but  when  the  dead  went  back  to 
Missouri,  in  their  exasperation,  they  could  have  thrown 
ten  thousand  men  into  Kansas,  and  might  have  turned 
our  victory  into  a  calamity,  and  ante-dated  the  Lawrence 
Massacre  seven  years,  and  its  numbers  limited  only  by 
the  number  of  resistants. 

From  the  last  of  April  till  September  26,  1856,  I  was 
absent,  and  during  that  period  I  only  know  of  events  by 
reading  and  personal  information  from  my  family  and 
friends  who  remained. 

I  was  engaged  in  the  rescue  of  Samuel  N.  Wood  on  the 
19th  of  April.  Being  informed  by  Charles  F.  Garrett 
that  Wood  was  arrested  in  the  law  office  of  James  Chris- 
tian, I  walked  in  a  perfectly  perfunctory  manner  towards 
the  office,  all  the  time  persuading  Mr.  Garrett  to  keep 
out  of  the  difficulty,  as  he  and  I  were  in  business,  which 
any  interference  would  break  up.  His  reply  was  :  "  But 
if  they  take  him  to  Lecompton,  they  will  kill  him." 
"  Oh,"  I  said,  "  there  is  more  danger  that  Jones  will  be 


WOOD    RESCUED.  77 

thrown  in  the  river  than  that  he  will  be  allowed  to  take 
him  away  ;  and  there  are  plenty  of  young  men ,  whom 
nobody  will  ever  be  able  to  identify,  who  will  rescue  him 
without  us  involving  ourselves."  But  as  I  came  to  the 
door,  Jones  stood  holding  him  by  both  wrists,  while 
Wood  was  asking  to  let  him  see  his  family  before  taking 
him  away,  pledging  himself  to  return  in  ten  minutes, 
saying  he  could  put  all  the  guard  around  his  house  he 
pleased.  "  Will  you  give  yourself  up?"  said  Jones. 
Wood  replied:  "No.  I  do  not  recognise  your  right  to 
take  me ;  but  I  will  put  myself  in  precisely  the  position 
I  am  in  now."  "Then  you  cannot  go,"  said  Jones. 
"I  will  go,"  said  Wood;  and  suiting  the  action  to  the 
word,  with  a  sudden  twist  of  his  hands,  he  jerked  loose, 
quickly  making  for  the  door.  Jones  jumped  for  him, 
and  caught  him  by  the  collar  just  as  he  reached  me  at 
the  door  ;  when,  impromptu,  and  apparently  without  re- 
flection, I  caught  Jones  by  the  throat  and  Wood  by  the 
coat  collar,  and  saying,  "Get  away,  Wood,"  he  left ;  but 
as  I  caught  Jones,  Wood  quickly  twitched  his  revolver 
from  him,  and  he  was  disarmed.  Jones'  three  deputies 
undertook  to  interfere  ;  but  James  B.  Abbott  laid  one  of 
them  down  on  the  ground  very  hard  ;  Charles  F .  Garrett 
swung  another  off  the  porch  by  the  coat  tail ;  and  Sam. 
F.  Tappan  throttled  the  third.  Jones  made  some  threats 
of  what  he  would  do  yet ;  and  then  there  were  cries,  ' '  Put 
him  in  the  river !"  just  as  I  expected.  I  did  all  I  could 
to  pacify  the  crowd,  telling  them  enough  had  been  done, 
and  appealing  to  them  to  "be  orderly,  and  let  the  Pro- 


78  CHURCH    MILITANT    AND    TRIUMPHANT. 

Slavery  men  commit  all  the  outrages."  One  of  his  dep- 
uties pawed  the  air  in  great  excitement,  exclaiming : 
"That's  enough!  that's  enough!  The  law  has  been 
violated,  and  the  officers  resisted."  The  multitude  qui- 
eted, and  Jones  and  his  posse  went  peaceably  away. 
Jones  reported  officially  that  he  had  been  resisted  by 
a  mob. 

The  following  Sunday,  April  20,  Jones  made  a  descent 
on  the  city,  with  a  posse  of  ten  men.  The  first  effort 
was  to  arrest  Mr.  Tappan,  (he  who  was  afterward  Colo- 
nel of  the  First  Colorado,  and  a  member  of  the  Peace 
Commission  under  President  Grant,)  but  Tappan  resist- 
ed ;  and  then,  "  there  was  a  splendid  chance  for  fun," 
as  the  boys  remarked,  Rev.  S.  Y.  Lum  was  preaching 
in  the  hall  hard  by.  It  was  "the  church  militant  and 
the  church  triumphant  " — and  the  church  a  la  militaire, 
for  that  matter ;  for  they  were  nearly  all  armed.  The 
audience  almost  fell  over  each  other  in  their  attempt  to 
reach  the  scene  ;  and  the  preacher  was  not  more  than  a 
length  behind,  accusing  Jones  of  breaking  up  his  church. 
Finding  that  he  was  foiled,  and  ' '  discretion  the  better 
part  of  valor,"  Jones  "stood  not  upon  the  order  of  his 
going,  but  went  at  once." 

It  was  said  that  the  redoubtable  sheriff  selected  Tap- 
pan  as  his  first  victim  because  he  was  reputed  to  be  a 
non-resistant.  However,  I  do  not  know  how  that  might 
have  been.  If  so,  as  a  member  of  the  Bogus  Legislature 
had  knocked  Tappan  down,  he  changed  his  mind,  and 
put  on  two  revolvers.  The  offense  he  committed  was  in 


SHERIFF    JONES    SHOT.  79 

calling  that  astute  body  a  Nero  Legislature  ;  and  as  the 
member  had  never  heard  of  Nero,  he  thought  he  meant 
a  negro  Legislature,  and  no  mortal  member  would  stand 
such  an  insult  as  that ! 

On  the  23d  of  April,  Jones  returned  with  a  company 
of  United  States  dragoons.  The  troops  were  generally 
our  friends,  and  watered  their  horses  at  all  the  wells 
where  there  was  a  horse  that  would  drink  at  all ;  and  all 
who  knew  of  anything  they  had  done,  got  notice  in  time 
to  run ;  and  I  fled  for  safety  to  the  Delaware  Indians. 
Jones  advanced  on  my  house,  formed  a  hollow  square 
around  it,  and  made  a  search.  He  then  took  about  ten 
innocent  men  who  were  never  suspected,  and,  to  show 
that  he  was  "  master  of  the  situation,"  camped  in  the 
town,  where  the  Bowersock  opera  house  now  stands, 
diagonally  northeast  from  the  Eldridge  House.  That 
night  he  was  shot,  and  was  supposed  to  have  been  mor- 
tally wounded ;  but  he  recovered.  The  citizens  denied 
all  knowledge  of  who  did  it,  and  held  a  public  meeting, 
passing  resolutions  condemnatory  of  the  act. 

The  Deputy  Sheriff,  Sam  Salters,  took  command,  and 
twice  formed  a  hollow  square  with  troops  around  my 
house.  The  first  time,  he  was  insolent,  abusive  and  pro- 
fane ;  and  I  advisd  Mrs.  Speer,  if  she  saw  his  hosts  com- 
ing, to  make  no  resistance,  but  to  barricade  the  door, 
and  compel  him  to  break  it  down.  This  she  did  ;  and, 
as  he  uttered  a  volley  of  profanity,  she  indignantly  cast 
a  dipper  of  water  in  his  face .  The  dragoons  laid  back 
in  their  saddles,  and  laughed  and  cheered.  This  so  pror 


80  A   GENTLEMAN    REBUKES   A    ROWDY. 

yoked  him  that  he  pulled  a  revolver,  swearing  he  would 
"kill  the  abolitionists."  Then  the  lieutenant  ordered 
him  away,  rebuking  him,  telling  him  no  man  should 
insult  a  lady  in  his  presence.  He  dismounted,  tapped 
on  the  window,  and  politely  requested  her  to  open  the 
door.  She  replied  :  "If  you  are  a  United  States  officer, 
I  will ;  if  you  are  a  Border  Ruffian,  you  will  have  to 
break  the  door  down."  "  I  assure  you,  madam,"  said 
the  officer,  politely,  "  that  I  am  a  United  States  officer, 
in  discharge  of  a  very  disagreeable  duty."  She  stepped 
to  the  door  and  opened  it,  inviting  him  to  search  every- 
where. He  made  a  very  inefficient  search,  pleasantly 
remarking  about  the  bright  morning,  the  babe  in  the 
cradle,  and  her  four  pretty  children  around  the  fire,  and 
retired.  Salters  told  him  he  had  left  a  little  room  un- 
searched.  I  was  not  there.  I  met  him  on  the  road  alone 
once  before,  with  a  Sharp's  rifle  on  me.  If  he  had  com- 
manded me,  I  would  have  followed  him,  as  we  had  all 
sworn  a  solemn  oath  to  resist  no  United  States  authority, 
and  about  as  solemn  an  oath  to  resist  all  other  authority. 
He  afterward  told  a  lady,  he  never  was  more  afraid  of 
anything  than  to  enter  that  house.  "  Did  you  think  he 
would  kill  you?"  "No.  I  met  a  polite  lady,  in  a  neat 
house,  with  five  nice  children,  one  of  them  a  babe  in  a 
cradle  ;  and  I  was  shocked  at  the  idea  that  I  might  have 
to  take  him  away."  He  was  Lieutenant  Mclntosh,  after- 
ward Gen.  Mclntosh,  of  the  Southern  army,  killed  at 
the  Battle  of  Cabin  Creek.  It  is  painful  to  think  that  so 
polished  a  gentleman  should  die  in  such  a  manner. 


LAST    INTERVIEW    WITH    SHERIFF    JONES.  81 

President  Buchanan  appointed  Jones  Collector  of  Cus- 
toms at  El  Paso,  Texas  ;  and  President  Lincoln  selected 
Wood  for  his  successor.  It  became  too  hot  for  either  of 
them.  Quantrill  robbed  Jones  at  Black  Jack,  while  he 
thought  he  was  in  the  hands  of  the  "  abolitionists." 

Jones  became  a  quiet  business  citizen  of  Arizona,  and 
died  there.  Twenty-five  years  later,  as  I  sat  in  the 
Planters  House,  at  Leaven  worth,  a  gentleman  extended 
his  hand,  saying,  "  Is  not  this  Mr.  Speer?"  He  was 
Sheriff  Jones.  We  passed  out  onto  the  veranda,  and 
had  a  long  and  pleasant  talk  over  old  times.  I  asked 
him  if  he  ever  imagined  it  possible  I  could  have  had 
anything  to  do  with  the  attempt  on  his  life.  Most  em- 
phatically he  replied:  "No.  I  always  recognized  you 
as  a  gentleman  ;  and  that  was  a  dastardly  attempt  at 
assassination."  With  pleasant  memories,  and  hearty 
congratulations,  we  parted,  never  to  meet  again. 

Major  James  B.  Abbott  has  written  the  following  ac- 
count of  the  Wood  rescue  as  he  saw  it : 

It  so  happened  that  I  had  come  in  from  my  claim  that  day,  and  no- 
ticed one  man  in  Sheriff  Jones'  posse,  who  had  been  a  passenger  on  a 
steamboat  with  me  from  St.  Louis  to  Kansas  City,  who,  with  his  part- 
ner, had  taken  passage  for  the  express  purpose  of  capturing  a  lot  of 
Sharp's  rifles  which  they  expected  to  find  on  board  of  the  boat,  but 
which  had  been  shipped,  by  my  direction,  on  a  boat  which  started  two 
•days  before  we  did.  So  that  plan  failed.  The  same  man  was  in  the 
posse  that  arrested  Branson  ;  but  the  prisoner  was  discharged  before 
Jie  arrived  at  the  justice's  office ;  and  so  I  made  up  my  mind,  if  this 
unlucky  rifle  hunter  attempted  to  work  an  oar  in  any  business  in  which 
I  or  any  of  my  friends  had  an  interest,  I  should  try  to  discourage  him. 
•Quite  a  crowd  had  gathered  near  the  office  of  Dr.  J.  N.  O.  P.  Wood, 


82  MAJOR  j.  B.  ABBOTT'S  STATEMENT. 

wanting  to  see  who  was  to  be  arrested  ;  for  all  the  rescuers  [of  Bran- 
son] had  been  threatened.  After  a  while,  I  saw  Sheriff  Jones  had 
clinched  Wood,  and  Wood  was  apparently  making  an  effort  to  get 
away.  Soon  Mr.  John  Speer,  who  was  coming  along  the  street,  no- 
ticed what  appeared  to  be  an  affray,  and  commanded  the  peace,  and 
attempted  to  separate  the  combatants  by  pushing  them  apart.  At 
this  time  I  noticed  my  rifle  hunter  was  getting  somewhat  uneasy,  and 
apparently  disposed  to  take  a  hand  in  the  business ;  and  so  I  quickly 
picked  him  up  and  carried  him  back  to  the  rear  of  Dr.  Wood's  office, 
and  laid  him  on  the  ground  and  held  him  there  till  the  excitement 
was  over.  When  I  came  back  on  the  street,  the  Sheriff  was  com- 
plaining that  he  had  lost  a  pistol.  Wood  was  gone,  and  some  one 
said  that  Wood  had  found  the  pistol  in  one  of  the  Sheriff's  pockets. 
The  talk  among  the  by-standers  was,  that  Mr.  Speer,  having  been 
appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  by  Governor  Reeder,  it  was  his  duty 
as  a  peace  officer  to  prevent  hostilities  on  the  streets. 

Dr.  Wood  and  James  Christian  had  their  offices  in  the 
same  room. 

This  is  a  succinct,  but  clear  and  explicit  statement 
from  Major  Abbott,  who  was  marked  for  vengeance  on 
account  of  his  leadership  in  the  Branson  rescue.  At  a 
later  period,  he  led  a  party  of  about  a  dozen  men  in  the 
rescue  of  Dr.  John  Doy  from  the  jail  in  the  city  of  Saint 
Joseph,  Missouri,  where  Doy  had  been  convicted  of  negro 
stealing,  though  the  offense,  if  there  was  any,  was  com- 
mitted in  Kansas. 

The  statement  which  I  made  that  I  was  a  justice  of  the 
peace  preventing  a  street  fight,  was  a  mere  joke.  Ta 
the  charge  that  I  had  resisted  an  officer,  I  jocosely  re- 
plied, that  my  commission  as  justice  ran  to  the  end  of 
the  first  session  of  the  Legislature  ;  and  as  there  never 
had  been  a  legal  legislature,  my  time  had  not  expired  ; 


A    TREASON    INDICTMENT.  83 

and  I  had  stopped  Jones  and  Wood  in  a  street  fight. 
The  Pro-Slavery  men  carried  that  joke  a  little  too  far  by 
reporting  it  to  the  Grand  Jury,  which  astute  body  called 
in  the  Attorney  General ;  and  that  more  astute  official 
very  gravely  instructed  them  that  the  mere  resistance  of 
an  officer  was  not  treason,  but  where  it  was  done  under 
the  pretence  of  the  authority  of  a  defunct  office,  it  was 
treason  ;  and  I  was  indicted  for  treason ;  but  I  objected 
to  carrying  the  joke  any  further,  and  was  never  arrested. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ANECDOTES    OF    LANE    AND    HIS    COMPEERS. 

Gen.  Lane  had  been  brought  up  in  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  under  a  scrupulously  pious  Methodist  mother, 
though  the  tergiversations  of  so  active,  ardent,  shrewd 
— not  to  say  tricky — a  politician,  cast  some  doubt  upon 
him  as  a  consistent  "  brother;"  but  in  Kansas,  the 
Methodist  church  was  one  of  the  most  important  factors 
in  the  destruction  of  slavery,  and  the  slavery  question 
was  the  alpha  and  omega  of  Kansas  politics  ;  and  no 
man  grasped  that  idea  with  more  tenacity  than  Lane. 
Quite  a  number  of  his  mother's  local  church  had  pre- 
ceded him  to  Kansas,  and  the  church  members  began  to 
call  on  him  and  occasionally  he  exhorted  in  church  meet- 
ings. A  story  was  told  that,  at  a  revival,  in  the  old 
Methodist  church  at  Lawrence,  he  and  Col.  Hamilton  P. 
Johnson,  of  Leavenworth,  both  made  exhortations,  and 
Lane  had  just  completed  a  most  pathetic  appeal  to  sin- 
ners, in  which  he  had  spoken  of  the  happiness  with 
which  the  Christian  died  under  all  the  circumstances  of 
life.  He  had  seen  the  Christian  die  in  the  palaces  of 
wealth  and  in  the  humble  cabins  of  the  pioneer ;  and 


DIED     NARY    A    TIME.  85 

he  always  died  happy.  He  had  seen  hinf  die  upon  the 
battle  fields  of  Mexico,  and  in  the  mansions  of  luxury 
and  wealth — no  matter  where  he  died,  he  always  passed 
away  in  happiness,  and  went  to  glory.  Just  then  a  man 
whom  we  shall  call  Me,  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  hear- 
ing the  words  of  Lane  and  Johnson,  and  taking  it  to  be 
a  political  meeting,  staggered  in,  and,  addressing  the 
preacher  in  the  pulpit,  said  :  "  Mr.  President :  Since  the 
(hie)  gentleman  has  mentioned  the  (hie)  battle  of  Buena 
Vista,  (hie)  I  was  there  myself  (hie)  and  fought  and  bled 
— and  died  nary  a  time  ! "  Some  of  the  church  members 
took  Mac  by  the  ear  and  led  him  out ;  but  not  without 
his  yelling  back,  that  he  could  not  see  why  he  had  not 
as  good  a  right  to  speak  as  Jim  Lane  or  Ham  Johnson ! 
Johnson  was  a  retired  Methodist  preacher,  and  consider- 
ble  of  a  politician,  who  afterwards  became  a  colonel  in 
the  army,  and  was  killed  at  the  Battle  of  Morristown, 
Missouri. 

The  Methodist  church  had  gone  through  the  ordeal  of 
a  division  between  the  North  and  the  South  ;  and  but  a 
small  portion  of  the  Southern  division  remained  in  Kan- 
sas. The  Northern  branch  had  been  twice  baptised — 
baptised  in  the  faith  of  Wesley,  and  baptised  in  the 
principles  of  that  great  leader,  who  declared  that  "  sla- 
very was  the  sum  of  all  villanies."  The  disruption  of 
the  church  made  all  these  Methodists  objects  of  antago- 
nism, and  they  were  marked  as  enemies  by  the  whole 
Pro-Slavery  organization.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have 
seen  thirty  or  forty  men,  most  of  whom  cared  nothing 


86  THE    WAKARUSA    CAMPMEETING. 

about  that  church,  and  some  of  them  caring  for  no 
church  and  no  religion,  go  to  a  campmeeting,  armed 
to  the  teeth ,  swearing  that  no  Methodist  assembly  should 
be  insulted  and  broken  up  while  they  lived.  The  first 
Methodist  conference  came  together  under  great  appre- 
hensions of  violence,  and  with  the  distinct  assurance  that 
it  should  be  protected.  The  Wakarusa  campmeeting 
was  one  of  our  institutions  sacred  to  liberty,  and  many 
anecdotes  were  mixed  with  its  religious  history.  It  was 
at  a  great  Palmyra  campmeeting  that  Lane  was  con- 
verted, or  said  to  have  been  converted.  His  prominence 
in  politics,  and  his  peculiarities  of  character,  made  him 
the  religious  butt  of  the  waggish  tongue  everywhere,  and 
various  were  the  stories  of  his  "experiences."  Far  be 
it  from  me  to  ridicule  sacred  things,  and  I  hope  these 
recitals  will  escape  such  criticism.  The  stories  must  be 
taken  with  the  usual  degrees  of  charity,  and  considered 
as  the  Christian  looks  upon  all  apocryphal  stories ;  as 
he  reads  the  Maccabees,  Susanna  and  the  Elders,  or  the 
account  of  Judith  and  old  Holifornes,  where  that  vir- 
tuous virago  cut  his  head  off  with  his  own  falchion,  and 
threw  the  gruesome  object  into  the  basket  of  her  maid, 
and  the  two  went  shouting  over  the  hills  to  Jerusalem. 
Mr.  Dallas,  the  Topeka  lawyer,  has  given  me  the  best 
version  of  it,  and  this  may  be  rather  suspected  apocry- 
phal. Dr.  Dallas,  his  father,  was  a  devout  Methodist, 
and  an  ardent  friend  of  Gen.  Lane  ;  and  the  young  man 
came  home  from  school  during  a  campmeeting,  and 
having  a  great  desire  to  see  Gen.  Lane,  who,  he  was 


BAD    BOYS    AT    A    CAMPM EETING.  87 

told,  was  at  the  camp,  he  hunted  up  Silas  Soule,  a  young 
friend,  and  requested  him  to  go  with  him  and  point  the 
noted  man  out.  Now  Sile  was  a  bad  boy.  There  are 
bad  bad  boys  and  good  bad  boys — and  Sile  was  of  the 
latter  kind — on  mischief  bent,  with  no  bad  intent — 

Neither  a  man  nor  a  boy, 
But  a  hobbledehoy. 

"  Yes,  I  know  him,"  said  Sile  ;  "  the  old  rascal  is  at  the 
headquarters  tent  praying  now.  Come  on."  On  they 
went.  The  tent  entrance  was  crowded  beyond  the  pos- 
sibility of  passage  ;  but  they  found  a  crack  in  the  boards 
— and  there  he  was,  down  on  his  knees,  in  extreme  so- 
lemnity. The  usual  exhortations  were  delivered,  one 
after  another  speaking,  with  all  the  pious  responses 
which  deep  devotion  always  prompts.  Finally,  Lane 
arose  slowly,  and  looking  seriously  over  the  congrega- 
tion, commenced  a  most  pathetic  exhortation,  referring 
with  great  solemnity  of  manner  to  the  teachings  of  his 
sainted  mother,  long  since  gone  to  the  heavenly  rest. 
He  dwelt  upon  her  infantile  lessons,  when  she  taught 
him  to  kneel  at  her  knees,  and  repeat  the  child's  lesson : 

Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep — 
I  pray  the  Lord  my  soul  to  keep ; 

If  I  should  die  before  I  wake, 
I  pray  the  Lord  my  soul  to  take. 

And  on  that  text  he  touched  every  heart — leading  them 
up,  gradually,  to  his  advancement  in  age,  when  she 
taught  him  the  Lord's  Prayer.  This  he  recited:  "Our 
Father  who  art  in  Heaven  :  hallowed  be  Thy  name  ;  Thy 
kingdom  come  ;  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 


88  THE    DOG-LEG    SURRENDERED. 

Heaven."  Then  he  followed  it  up  in  almost  tragic  ac- 
cents, praying  that  the  will  of  the  Lord  might  be  done 
here  and  now  and  everywhere  "as  it  is  in  Heaven." 
And  he  stirred  that  audience,  as  our  informant  tells  us, 
who  had  heard  many  of  the  greatest  revivalists  of  our 
times,  as  he  never  had  witnessed.  The  pathos  and  effect 
of  that  address  is  indescribable.  As  lie  concluded,  he 
sat  down,  bowed  forward,  with  his  face  in  his  hands,  as 
all  his  friends  have  so  often  seen  him,  in  deep  medita- 
tion. Then  the  minister  carried  on  the  meeting,  exhort- 
ing the  people  against  all  the  vices  that  humanity  is  heir 
to ;  but  eventually  turning  upon  the  vice  of  tobacco, 
until  his  eloquence  made  a  deep  impression,  and  seemed 
to  move  visibly  that  great  man  to  a  sense  of  his  besetting 
sin  ;  when,  reaching  down  under  his  vest,  with  his  head 
still  in  prayerful  attitude,  he  pulled  forth  about  a  foot  of 
dog-leg  tobacco,  and  passed  it  up  to  the  preacher  with- 
out raising  his  head.  As  the  preacher  took  that  plug  in 
his  hand,  a  new  inspiration  seemed  to  seize  him,  as  lie 
exclaimed:  "Glory  to  God!  This  great  man  who  has 
led  the  hosts  of  his  country  in  battle,  stood  upon  the 
forum  of  the  capitol,  and  in  the  serried  ranks  of  war, 
has  given  up  his  last  idol,  and  surrendered  his  heart  to 
the  Lord  !  We  will  cast  this  vile  weed  to  the  four  winds 
of  heaven!"  And,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  he 
flung  the  dog-leg  afar  into  the  bushes  surrounding  the 
camp.  Then,  in  spontaneity,  the  whole  audience  broke 
forth  in  shouts  of  song,  ' '  Praise  God,  from  whom  all 
blessings  flow." 


SEARCHING    FOR    THE    TOBACCO.  89 

In  time,  the  touching  scene  was  ended,  and  all  went 
their  several  ways  with  happy  hearts  rejoicing.  But 
Sile  and  young  Dallas  remained,  sauntering  over  the 
camp  in  silence,  till  Sile  said  :  "  Let  us  go  over  and  find 
that  tobacco."  They  searched  through  all  the  brush 
and  weeds,  but  the  weed  of  all  weeds  was  lost.  The 
next  day,  Mr.  Dallas  went  to  a  Lane  caucus,  and  found 
him  discussing  politics  and  chewing  apparently  the  same 
dog-leg  piece.  He  had  "backslidden."  When  he  went 
into  the  Senate,  he  entirely  broke  off  from  the  habit,  and 
was  as  dignified  as  any  Senator. 

This  story  ought  to  be  true  ;  for  we  have  since  been 
reliably  informed  that  the  relator  came  very  near  being 
whipped  by  his  Methodist  father  for  slandering  his  friend. 
It  fails  also  in  the  fact  that  he  has  furnished  no  proof  as 
to  where  he  got  so  much  tobacco ;  for  he  never  had  but 
one  chew  at  a  time,  and  borrowed  all  the  tobacco  of  the 
troops  who  were  being  used  as  a  posse  comitatus  by  the 
Pro-Slavery  officers  for  his  arrest.  Many  a  soldier  has 
given  him,  and  all  the  Free-State  men,  the  hint  of 
danger. 

With  all  his  oddities,  he  had  a  firm  faith  in  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  Dr.  Brooks,  a  Pro-Slavery  man,  and  a 
Virginian,  had  great  personal  admiration  for  him  ;  but, 
not  knowing  how  a  visit  by  him  would  be  taken  by 
Lane,  asked  me  to  accompany  him.  Lane  was  pleased, 
and  the  visit  was  a  delightful  one,  continued  quite  late. 
Our  ways  separating  at  the  gate,  we  stood  awhile  quietly 
talking,  when  all  at  once,  Dr.  Brooks  called  my  atten- 


90  HIS    RELIGIOUS    IDEAS    RAN    TO    SUPERSTITION. 

tion  to  solemn  sounds.  All  alone,  he  was  teaching  his 
child  the  Lord's  Prayer.  His  religious  ideas  ran  even  to 
superstition  ;  and  especially  to  an  overruling  influence 
by  the  spirit  of  his  mother.  A  few  friends,  at  Washing- 
ton, deputed  me  to  invite  him  to  visit  with  them  the 
celebrated  spiritualist,  Foster,  which  he  declined,  telling 
me,  in  confidence,  and  all  seriousness,  that  he  believed 
his  mother  would  appear  to  him,  and  he  would  break 
down,  and  it  would  be  quoted  against  him  as  an  evi- 
dence of  weakness.  In  all  his  plans  of  politics,  one  of 
his  most  confidential  advisers  was  a  distinguished  Meth- 
odist minister,  accompanying  him  on  long  journeys. 

When  the  first  street  cars  were  placed  upon  Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue,  in  1862,  cars  were  run  with  a  placard,  in 
large  letters,  "  For  Negroes,"  and  no  negro  was  admitted 
on  the  white  cars  except  as  a  servant,  accompanying  a 
mistress  or  children,  and  the  servant  was  compelled  to 
stay  on  the  platform,  while  the  mistress  or  child  went 
inside.  One  day,  in  Lane's  presence,  a  young  colored 
girl  appeared  with  a  child ;  the  child  was  pushed  into 
the  car,  and  the  girl  kept  on  the  platform,  the  affrighted 
infant  screaming  for  its  nurse.  Lane  opened  the  car 
door,  and  said  to  the  nurse  :  "  Come  in  and  take  care  of 
this  poor  child."  The  girl  protested  that  they  would 
not  let  her.  "  I  will  see  that  nobody  hinders  you,"  said 
Lane,  taking  her  by  the  arm  and  leading  her  in.  The 
conductor  interfered,  threatening  to  inform  on  him. 
Lane  promptly  said:  "Attend  to  your  business,  or  I'll 
drive  this  car  to  the  headquarters,  report  the  case,  and 


MILLIONS    FOR    KANSAS. 


01 


see  that  a  bill  is  introduced  to  repeal  the  charter  of  this 
road."  The  girl  staid  on,  and  the  conductor  reported. 
The  company  investigated  it  far  enough  to  find  that  Jim 
Lane  was  the  offender,  and  was  preparing  a  bill  to  repeal 
the  charter  or  control  the  road.  They  took  the  cars  off, 
and  a  negro  car  has  never  run  since. 

One  bright  forenoon,  in  1862,  I  was  walking  down 
Three-and-a-half  street  with  him,  when  he  struck  a  stage 
attitude  so  suddenly  that  I  feared  he  had  taken  a  spasm, 
as  he  exclaimed,  pointing  his  long  bony  finger  toward 
the  sun  :  "  That  is  the  most  important  sun  that  has  ever 
arisen  upon  Kansas.  Before  it  sets,  prospective,  untold 
millions  will  be  added  to  our  wealth  !"  That  afternoon 
the  Pacific  Railway  bill  passed. 

In  the  troubles  of  1855,  Messrs. Wemple  and 

William  Ross,  brother-in-law  and  brother  of  Ex-Senator 
Ross,  brought  to  Lawrence,  from  Shelby  county,  Mis- 
souri, a  free  colored  man,  with  all  his  certificates  of 
freedom  regularly  certified  and  sealed  by  the  officers  of 
the  proper  court,  and  a  white  Missourian  named  David 
Evans,  as  farm  hands.  Evans  was  a  Free-State  man  of 
very  marked  characteristics.  The  Pro-Slavery  men  ex- 
pressed doubts  about  the  freedom  of  Jonas,  the  negro, 
and  wanted  to  investigate  "the  nigger-thieves."  Dave 
took  it  up,  and  armed  to  the  teeth  with  bowie-knives  and 
revolvers,  drove  them  off.  Lane  heard  of  him  and  his 
prowess,  and  hired  him  for  fifteen  dollars  a  month  "  just 
to  stand  around  and  accommodate  ruffians  spoiling  for  a 
fight."  He  was  known  as  Buckskin,  because  he  wore  a 


92  THE    GERMAN    GAVE    IT    UP. 

buckskin  suit,  and  he  was  ready  for  a  fight  either  "  fist 
and  skull,  or  with  the  cold  steel  and  malleable  iron." 
His  first  job  of  "  fist  and  skull  "  was  on  Luke  Corlew,  a 
noted  bully,  whom  he  pounded  terribly,  tore  his  clothes 
from  him,  and  ran  him,  half-naked,  out  of  the  town. 
They  gave  Buckskin  a  wide  berth  after  that — shied  away 
from  him  ;  and  for  a  long  time,  he  was  a  terror  to  all  of 
them . 

In  the  second  Lincoln  campaign,  as  I  was  sitting  in 
Lane's  room  with  Hon.  J.  C.  Burnett,  of  Kansas,  a  very 
intelligent  Cincinnati  Republican  came  in  to  interview 
him  in  behalf  of  Gen.  Fremont  for  the  Presidency.  He 
argued  the  matter  with  great  ability,  and  still  greater 
persistency  ;  and  Lane  heard  him  very  attentively.  As 
an  apparently  final  appeal,  the  German  assured  him  that 
the  entire  German-American  population  wore  for  Fre- 
mont. Looking  that  honest  German  squarely  in  the  eye , 
Lane  very  gravely  replied  :  ' '  That  is  the  reason  I  am 
opposed  to  your  movement.  It  is  unpatriotic  and  clan- 
nish. We  should  be  neither  German- Americans,  Irish- 
Americans,  Scotch-Americans  or  Swedish-Americans,  but 
all  Americans  ;  and  as  a  German,  I  protest  against  it." 
Whether  the  smile  upon  the  countenances  of  the  audi- 
ence impressed  the  German  that  Lane  was  guying  him, 
or  he  had  discovered  an  important  split  in  the  German- 
American  ranks,  I  cannot  say  ;  but  he  replied  :  ' '  Very 
veil,  I  gif  it  up."  The  German  did  not  get  ahead  of 
Lane  in  the  politeness  of  their  separation ,  and  in  response 
to  Lane's  hearty  invitation,  promised  to  "  call  again." 


THE    TRIAL    OF    HOG    THIEVES    AT    OSKALOOSA.  93 

If  the  reader  wants  to  laugh  till  tears  run  out  of  his 
eyes,  get  Hon.  Walter  N.  Allen  to  tell  the  story  of  Lane's 
defense  of  the  hog  thieves  at  Oskaloosa.  Mr.  Allen  was 
the  prosecuting  attorney,  and  had  had  four  or  five  Free- 
State  men  arrested  for  stealing  Pro-Slavery  men's  hogs 
on  the  Delaware  Indian  reserve.  He  had  all  his  evi- 
dence ready,  was  sure  there  could  be  no  defense,  and 
expected  a  plea  of  guilty,  and  an  appeal  to  the  court  for 
mercy.  To  his  surprise,  when  the  court  met  at  9  a.  m., 
an  affidavit  was  presented  by  the  defendants,  setting 
forth  that  they  had  been  unable  to  procure  an  attorney, 
and  asking  for  a  postponement  until  7p.m.  The  court 
granted  the  time,  of  course ;  but  Allen  was  amazed  at 
such  foolishness,  as  he  meant  to  be  merciful.  He  retired 
to  his  hotel  for  rest  and  recuperation.  South  of  Oska- 
loosa, there  was  a  long  slope  of  prairie,  a  smooth, 
beautiful  ridge,  a  grand  view  for  seven  or  eight  miles. 
Sitting  on  the  porch  of  his  hotel,  near  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon,  he  observed  an  object  far  away,  which  he  soon 
saw  was  moving,  and  slowly  advancing  towards  him ; 
again  he  saw  the  object  was  a  man  on  foot,  and  as  it 
neared  him,  he  recognized  Gen.  Lane.  Then  it  dawned 
upon  him  that  he  was  attorney  for  the  hog  thieves  ;  but 
what  conceivable  defense  he  could  have,  was  beyond  his 
imagination.  Soon  men  were  coming  to  the  trial  from 
all  directions  ;  and  when  the  court  met,  the  house  was 
full.  The  accused  had  quietly  whispered  around  among 
their  friends  that  Lane  would  speak  that  night.  Lane 
had  examined  the  poll  lists  at  Lawrence,  and  found  these 


94  THE   COURT   JUMPED   OUT   OF   THE    WINDOW. 

men's  names  on  the  lists  and  copied  them,  and  managed 
to  have  the  Free-State  men  hear  that  the  accused  had 
something  against  their  "persecutors,"  and  if  they  de- 
nied it,  they  must  take  the  consequences.  Allen  pro- 
duced his  witnesses,  and  the  evidence  was  clear  and 
indisputable.  Lane  had  no  questions  to  ask  ;  and  Allen 
considered  argument  unnecessary.  Lane  said  the  court 
was  bound  to  take  judicial  notice  of  two  facts:  "One, 
that  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  copy  of  the  poll  list,  showing 
that  these  men  voted  at  Lawrence,  and  now  swear  they 
lived  in  Missouri,  and  emigrated  to  Kansas  afterward. 
Men  that  would  thus  stuff  the  ballot-boxes,  overrun  elec- 
tions, and  drive  voters  from  the  polls,  ought  to  be 
thankful  that  they  are  not  hung.  Another  point  of 
which  the  court  must  take  judicial  notice,  is,  that  this 
pretended  offense  was  committed  on  an  Indian  reserve, 
which  is  no  part  of  the  Territory  of  Kansas,  and  over 
which  the  court  has  no  jurisdiction."  He  then  turned 
his  face  from  the  court,  and  denounced  these  men  as 
ballot  stuffers,  murderers,  who  had  no  rights  in  Kansas, 
nor  any  place  else  outside  of  the  penitentiary  ;  and  he  so 
exasperated  that  audience,  that  the  attorney  retired  in 
good  order,  but  the  court  jumped  out  of  the  window,  and 
the  prosecutors  fled  in  all  directions ;  and  then  Lane 
turned  to  the  arrested  men  and  said  :  "  Where,  oh  where 
are  thine  accusers?"  Attorney,  court,  jurors,  accusers, 
were  all  gone. 

Allen,  in  telling  the  story,  told  me  Lane  came  to  the 
hotel  and  undertook  to  speak  to  him.     He  repulsed  him  ; 


HIS    BEST    FRIEND    IN    OSKALOOSA.  95 

told  him  to  go  away ;  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
a  man  who  would  incite  a  mob  against  him  in  a  trial . 
But,  after  much  persuasion  and  affectionate  good  nature 
on  the  part  of  Lane,  Allen  condescended  to  hear  him. 
"Now,  Walter,"  said  Lane,  "you  know  what  kind  of  a 
case  I  had."  "Yes,  I  know  you  had  no  case  at  all." 
But  he  listened  further,  as  Lane  proceeded:  "Walter, 
you  know,  if  I  could  have  borrowed  or  hired  a  horse  on 
credit  for  the  trip,  I  would  not  have  walked  here  and 
back,  over  forty  miles.  These  men  deposited  a  twenty- 
dollar  gold  piece  in  Ed.  Thompson's  bank  at  Lawrence, 
which  I  am  to  have  when  I  get  there.  Walter,  if  you 
are  as  poor  as  I  am,  I  hope  you  got  your  fee.  I  had  not 
a  dollar,  and  I  have  been  refused  credit  for  a  loaf  of 
bread  in  Lawrence,  and  my  family  have  not  even  the 
necessaries  of  life.  Let  us  be  friends,  Walter.  My 
clients  are  cleared,  and  yours  have  cleared  out  for  Platte 
county.  I  hope  your  friends  will  find  a  ferry,  and  not 
be  drowned  in  the  Missouri  river." 

And  after  this,  Mr.  Allen,  in  telling  the  story,  said: 
"  Speer,  I  declare  to  you,  that  before  he  left,  I  was  the 
best  friend  he  had  in  Oskaloosa." 

On  one  occasion,  the  friends  of  Lane  called  a  great 
round-up  meeting  at  Lecompton,  for  two  o'clock  on  the 
afternoon  before  election.  Now,  Lecompton  was  hardly 
legitimately  our  "stamping  ground;"  but  we  had  just 
secured  an  important  accession  of  strength  there  in  the 
person  of  Hon.  David  T.  Mitchell,  who  was  a  power  in 
Lecompton,  and  we  had  determined  to  back  the  convert 


96  OLD    JIM    WAS   TO    SPEAK. 

up  with  an  ovation.  But  the  opposition  were  alive,  too  ; 
and  they  had  called  a  meeting  for  three  o'clock  of  the 
same  day,  at  the  same  hall,  and  promptly  at  two  o'clock 
came  Mr.  Josiah  Trask,  the  brilliant  young  editor,  Col. 
James  Blood,  Hon.  Paul  R.  Brooks  and  one  or  two 
others,  to  hear  our  talk,  and  squelch  us  with  "the  last 
word"  before  election.  We  held  a  caucus.  It  was  a 
hey-day  in  Lecompton.  ' '  Old  Jim  was  to  speak. ' '  Lane 
remarked  to  the  caucus:  "These  men  have  come  here 
premeditatedly  to  take  our  audience.  We  cannot  tole- 
rate that.  The  rule  of  the  justice's  court  that  it  is  two 
o'clock  till  three,  holds  good  in  apolitical  meeting.  We 
will  push  our  way  through  that  crowd  at  five  minutes  to 
three,  sharp;  take  twenty  minutes  to  shake  hands, 
and  let  the  meeting  settle  ;  Speer  will  arise ,  and  take 
thirty  minutes  on  the  prospects  of  Lecompton,  and  to 
introduce  the  venerable  Father  Weaver,  the  head  of  Lane 
University,  as  our  President,  who  will  speak  till  four 
fifteen  o'clock  on  the  business  and  educational  interests 
of  Lecompton,  and  I  will  speak  till  six  o'clock,  when  I 
must  leave  for  our  meeting  at  Clinton,  [twelve  miles 
away  ;]  Clarke  will  speak  till  half  past  seven  ;  and  then 
Speer  will  speak  till  between  eight  and  nine,  and  intro- 
duce Hon.  David  T.  Mitchell ;  and  if  Dave  gets  to  six- 
teenthly  before  the  polls  open  to-morrow  morning,  I  am 
mistaken  in  his  wind !"  The  program  was  pretty  faith- 
fully carried  out ;  but  in  the  dim  distance  of  thirty-five 
years  I  could  hardly  swear  that  this  list  of  his  subjects 
was  correct:  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  Declaration,  War 


CHESTER    THOMAS    AS    A    FACTOR    IN    POLITICS.  97 

of  the  Revolution,  Resolutions  of  '98,  Whisky  Rebellion, 
Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,  Jefferson  and  the  Embargo, 
Sailors'  Rights,  Hartford  Convention,  Monroe  Doctrine, 
War  of  1812,  Jackson  on  Nullification,  Veto  of  United 
States  Bank,  Mexican  War,  Slavery,  and  was  whaling 
away  on  "  sixteenthly,  Lincoln  and  the  Rebellion," 
when  the  chickens  began  to  crow,  and  the  last  words 
our  opponents  heard  as  they  fled  over  the  Lecompton 
hills,  were  "hurrah  for  Jim  Lane  and  Dave  Mitchell!" 

There  was  another  man  of  great  power  in  the  pioneer 
days,  so  intimately  connected  with  Lane  that  we  cannot 
leave  him  out,  the  anecdotes  of  whom  would  make  a 
small  volume,  and  whose  influence  was  extensive  and 
salutary.  We  mean  Chester  Thomas,  of  Topeka ;  and, 
if  Topeka  ever  gets  awakened  to  his  merits,  they  ought  to 
erect  him  a  monument  in  the  State  capitol  grounds  for 
his  great  power  in  the  location  of  the  capital.  He  was 
warm  hearted,  generous,  hospitable  and  a  sincere  friend. 

When  he  was  recommended  for  mail  inspector,  he  went 
up  to  the  postoffice  department,  and  General  Blair,  the 
head  of  the  department,  was  not  busy,  and  invited  him 
to  be  seated  and  make  himself  sociable.  They  sat  talk- 
ing, and  Gen.  Blair  said:  "Mr.  Thomas,  if  you  have 
any  business  to  transact  before  entering  upon  your  offi- 
cial duties,  you  need  not  hesitate  about  going  home. 
Your  appointment  will  follow  you  in  a  week  or  so.  It  is 
a  mere  matter  of  formality."  He  said  to  him  :  "  No,  I 
have  nothing  in  particular.  I  can  just  as  well  wait  as 
not,  and  take  the  appointment  with  me.  You  don't 


98  SET    UP    A    JOB  ON    THEM. 

know  Lane  and  Pomeroy.  If  I  should  leave,  and  they 
should  take  a  notion  they  didn't  want  me,  I  wouldn't 
get  further  than  Baltimore,  till  they  would  both  come  up 
here,  and  file  their  affidavits  that  there  never  was  any 
such  man  lived  west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  I  will  take 
it  along." 

Mr.  Thomas  had  a  reputation  before  he  came  to  Kan- 
sas. Hon.  David  Wilmot,  of  Wilmot  Proviso  fame,  told 
Gen.  Lane,  if  he  ever  had  a  knotty  question  to  settle,  to 
send  for  Chester  Thomas.  "  He  is  one  of  the  ablest  pol- 
iticians I  ever  knew."  He  was  a  Democrat,  as  was 
Wilmot ;  but  he  went  off  to  stay  on  the  slavery  question. 
He  and  Wilmot  had  much  to  do  in  getting  John  W.  For- 
ney interested  in  the  anti-slavery  cause.  I  once  asked 
him  about  it,  but  he  hesitated  to  tell  me.  Said  he: 
"  The  fact  is,  we  set  up  a  job  on  them."  The  anti-sla- 
very men  had  an  honest,  punctillious  old  Quaker  on  the 
committee  who  would  not  go  in  at  Forney's  back  door. 
They  wanted  the  caucus  secret,  and  the  Quaker  wan  ted 
to  be  open  and  above  board.  Thomas  was  more  practi- 
cal, and  did  not  hesitate.  He  said  it  didn't  make  so 
much  difference  where  you  went  in,  so  that  you  came 
out  right.  They  never  knew  what  hurt  them  till  the 
polls  closed.  It  was  the  turning  point  in  Pennsylvania, 
politics . 

His  theory  of  political  demagogy  was,  that  a  man  who 
started  out  to  get  office,  lauding  his  own  honesty,  could 
seldom  be  trusted.  Said  he  :  "You  cannot  buy  a  poli- 
tician. A  politician  has  a  reputation  to  take  care  of,. 


A    CHRISTIAN    ON    THE    TICKET.  99 

and  will  not  sell  out.  If  you  want  to  buy  a  man,  buy  an 
honest  man.  An  honest  man  will  sell.  When  I  was  in 
the  Council,  [Territorial,]  a  man  came  to  me  and  said : 
'  Thomas,  I  will  give  you  one  hundred  dollars,  if  you 
will  move  a  reconsideration  of  my  bill  that  failed  yester- 
day, and  get  it  through.'  I  told  him  I  would  not  touch 
his  bill,  if  he  would  give  me  all  he  could  make  out  of  it. 
He  started  away.  I  said :  '  Now  don't  go  away  dis- 
gusted. Let  me  give  you  a  little  advice.  Never  try  to 
buy  a  politician.  Buy  an  honest  man.  A  politician 
won't  sell;  but  an  honest  man  will.'  I  said:  'There 
sits  an  honest  man.  Go  to  him  and  offer  the  proper 
persuasives,  and  get  him  to  move  a  reconsideration,  with 
a  few  pertinent  remarks,  to  the  effect  that  he  was  mis- 
taken in  the  character  of  the  bill,  but  has  since  investi- 
gated it,  and  found  it  a  meritorious  bill.  There  sits 
another  honest  man.  Get  him  to  second  the  motion, 
with  a  few  similar  remarks,  and  your  bill  will  go  right 
through  ;  and  my  record  will  be  all  right."  It  passed. 

On  one  occasion,  it  was  palpably  plain  to  Mr.  Thomas 
that  there  were  several  candidates  likely  to  be  nominated 
who  were  hardly  proper  men  ;  but  still  he  could  not  pre- 
vent their  nomination.  He  said  :  "  Gentlemen,  what  we 
want  is  a  Christian  on  that  ticket  to  save  it,  or  we  are 
scooped.  I  know  a  Christian  plowing  corn,  out  on  the 
south  side  of  the  county,  with  the  crown  out  of  his  hat 
and  his  toes  out  of  his  boots,  who  would  make  a  good 
candidate  and  a  good  officer.  '  A  little  leaven  leaveneth 
the  whole  lump,'  and  it's  an  infernal  hard  'lump'  at 


100  SEVEN    IS    MORE    THAN    SIX. 

that."  They  got  the  "leaven,"  and  the  ticket  went 
right  through.  That  man  has  since  become  distin- 
guished, honored  and  respected  as  a  statesman. 

When  he  was  in  the  Council  of  13,  (Territorial,)  he 
organized  for  business  with  six  men  with  him  for  all  his 
bills — that  is,  he  and  six  others  agreed  on  what  they 
wanted,  and  solidly  supported  each  other.  His  name 
being  at  the  foot  of  the  list,  and  therefore  the  last  vote, 
he  would  sit  in  his  seat  sometimes  until  his  name  had 
been  called  thrice,  and  then  apparently  rouse  up,  re- 
marking, "A  meritorious  bill.  I  vote  aye."  And  then 
frequently  he  remarked,  "Seven  is  more  than  six." 
From  a  political  standpoint,  his  measures  rarely  lacked 
wisdom. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
GEN.  LANE'S  CAMPAIGN  FOR  FREMONT. 

Where  shall  we  commence,  and  where  shall  we  make 
the  dividing  line,  in  that  wonderful  dual  campaign  of 
politics  and  war  —  the  Presidential  campaign  in  the 
States,  and  the  defense  in  Kansas  Territory,  covering 
different  fields,  separated  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
miles,  four  hundred  miles  of  it  traversed  only  by  horse- 
power, the  Missouri  river  blockaded  by  armed  enemies  ? 
Besides  bringing  three  colonies  into  Kansas,  Lane  was 
heard  from  the  stump  in  nearly  all  the  great  cities  of  the 
North  from  New  England  .to  Iowa,  then  the  furthest 
Western  State  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  His  fame 
as  a  soldier  from  the  fields  of  Buena  Vista  and  the  City 
of  Mexico  to  his  triumps  in  defen«e  of  the  defenseless 
people  of  Kansas,  and  his  wonderful  powers  of  oratory, 
attracted  the  masses  to  him  as  they  were  attracted  to  no 
other  man  in  the  nation.  When  the  cry  of  renewed  dis- 
tress came  he  was  in  the  East  in  the  interest  of  Free 
Kansas.  With  the  celerity  of  thought,  he  was  in  the 
field  originating  measures  to  avert  the  destruction  of  the 
lives  and  property  of  the  pioneer  freemen  ;  and  in  an  in- 


102  LANE    APPEARS    IN    CHICAGO. 

credibly  short  period,  he  was  leading  a  force  five  hun- 
dred miles  overland,  through  Iowa  and  Nebraska,  more 
than  two  hundred  miles  of  it  wilderness,  west  of  all 
bases  of  supplies  ;  and,  although  forty  years  have  trans- 
pired, the  settlers  point  out  "  Lane's  Road  "  as  an  object 
of  historic  interest. 

Perhaps  no  better  idea  of  the  opening  of  the  campaign 
of  1856  can  be  given  than  in  extracts  of  proceedings  and 
his  speech,  when  he  appeared  in  Chicago,  May  31, 1856  : 

From  Andreas'  History,  page- 136. 

The  President  then  introduced  Col.  James  H.  Lane,  of  Kansas.  As 
he  rose  up  and  came  forward,  he  was  greeted  with  an  outburst  of  ap- 
plause from  the  crowd  that  continued  for  some  minutes,  during  which 
time  he  stood  statue-like,  with  mouth  firm  set,  gazing  with  those 
wondrous  eyes  down  into  the  very  heart  of  the  excited  throng.  Be- 
fore the  applause  had  subsided  sufficiently  for  his  voice  to  be  heard, 
the  fascinating  spell  of  his  presence  had  already  seized  upon  the  whole 
vast  audience,  and  for  the  next  hour  he  controlled  its  every  emotion 
— moving  to  teais,  to  anger,  to  laughter,  to  scorn,  to  the  wildest  en- 
thusiasm, at  his  will.  No  man  of  his  time  possessed  such  magnetic 
power  over  a  vast  miscellaneous  assembly  of  men  as  he.  With  two 
possible  exceptions,  (Patrick  Henry  and  S.  S.  Prentiss,)  no  American 
orator  ever  equalled  him  in  effective  stump-speaking,  or  in  the  irre- 
sistable  power  by  which  he  held  his  audiences  in  absolute  control. 
On  that  night,  he  was  at  his  best.  It  was  doubtless  the  ablest  and 
most  effective  oratorical  effort  of  his  life.  No  full  report  of  it  was 
given  at  the  time. 

Col.  S.  S.  Prouty,  one  of  his  audience  and  one  of  the 
next  party  he  led  to  Kansas,  thus  wrote  of  the  speech 
twenty-five  years  afterward : 

He  was  fresh  from  the  scene  of  dispute  in  the  belligerent  territory. 
He  made  a  characteristic  speech,  teeming  with  invective  extrava- 
gance, impetuosity,  denunciation  and  eloquence.  The  grass  on  the 


DENUNCIATION    OF    PRESIDENT    PIERCE.  103 

prairie  is  swayed  no  more  easily  by  the  winds  than  was  this  vast 
assemblage  by  the  utterances  of  this  speaker.  They  saw  the  contend- 
ing factions  in  the  Territory  through  his  glasses.  The  Pro-Slavery 
party  appeared  like  demons  and  assassins ;  the  Free-State  party  like 
heroes  and  martyrs.  He  infused  them  with  his  warlike  spirit  and 
enthusiastic  ardor  for  the  practical  champions  of  freedom.  Their 
response  to  his  appeals  for  succor  for  the  struggling  freemen  was  im- 
mediate and  decisive. 

A  few  extracts  which  have  been  preserved  will  show 
the  spirit  of  his  address  : 

I  have  been  sent  by  the  people  of  Kansas  to  plead  their  cause  before 
the  people  of  the  North.  Most  persons  have  a  very  erroneous  idea  of 
the  people  of  Kansas.  They  think  they  are  mostly  from  Massachu- 
setts. They  are  really  more  than  nine-tenths  from  the  Northwestern 
States.  There  are  more  men  from  Ohio,  Illinois  and  Indiana  than 
from  all  New  England  and  New  York  combined. 

We  must  remember,  in  reading  this,  that  all  the  North- 
western States,  except  Iowa,  then  lay  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  Of  the  President  he  said  : 

Of  Franklin  Pierce  I  have  a  right  to  talk  as  I  please,  having  made 
more  than  one  hundred  speeches  advocating  his  election,  and  having 
also,  as  one  of  the  Electors  of  Indiana,  cast  the  electoral  vote  of  that 
State  for  him.  Frank  was,  in  part,  the  creature  of  my  own  hands ; 
and  a  pretty  job  they  made  of  it.  The  one  pre-eminent  wish  of  mine 
now  is,  that  he  may  be  hurled  from  the  white  house ;  and  that  the 
nine  memorials  sent  him  from  the  outraged  citizens  of  Kansas,  de- 
tailing their  wrongs,  may  be  dragged  from  his  iron  box. 

He  alluded  to  Col.  W.  H.  Bissell,  then  the  Republican 
candidate  for  Governor  of  Illinois,  as  follows  : 

It  is  true  I  was  side  by  side  with  your  gallant  and  noble  Bissell  at 
Buena  Vista  and  in  Congress.  I  wish  I  could  describe  to  you  the  scene 
on  the  morning  preceding  that  glorious  battle.  On  a  ridge  stood 
Clay,  Bissell,  McKee,  Hardin  and  myself.  Before  us  were  twenty 
thousand  armed  enemies.  It  was  a  beautiful  morning,  and  the  sun 


104  INVASION    AND    TYRANNY    UNDENIED. 

shone  bright  upon  the  polished  lances  and  muskets  of  the  enemy,  and 
their  banners  waved  proudly  in  the  breeze.  In  our  rear,  the  lofty 
mountains  reared  skyward,  and  their  bases  swarmed  with  enemies 
ready  to  rob  the  dead  and  murder  the  wounded  when  the  battle  was 
over.  Around  us  stood  five  ragged  regiments  of  volunteers,  two  from 
Illinois,  two  from  Indiana  and  one  from  Kentucky ;  they  were  bone 
of  your  bone,  blood  of  your  blood  ;  and  it  was  only  when  you  were 
near  enough  to  look  into  their  eyes  that  you  could  see  the  devil  was 
in  them.  It  did  not  then  occur  to  me  that  I  should  be  indicted  for 
treason  because  I  loved  liberty  better  than  slavery. 

After  paying  a  glowing  tribute  to  Bissell,  and  giving  a 
vivid  description  of  Kansas  outrages,  he  proceeded : 

The  Missourians  poured  over  the  border  in  thousands,  with  bowie- 
knives  in  their  boots,  their  belts  bristling  with  revolvers,  their  guns 
upon  their  shoulders,  and  three  gallons  per  vote  in  their  wagons. 
When  asked  where  they  came  from,  their  reply  was,  "From  Mis- 
souri:"  when  asked,  "What  are  you  here  for?"  their  reply  was, 
"Come  to  vote."  If  any  one  should  go  there  and  attempt  to  deny 
these  things,  or  apologise  for  them,  the  Missourians  would  spit  upon 
him.  They  claim  to  own  Kansas,  to  have  a  right  to  vote  there,  and  to 
make  its  laws,  and  to  say  what  its  institutions  shall  be. 

Col.  Lane  held  up  the  volume  of  the  statutes  of  Kan- 
sas, and  reading  and  commenting  as  he  read,  said  : 

The  Legislature  first  passed  acts  virtually  repealing  the  larger  por- 
tion of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  then  repealed,  as 
coolly  as  one  would  take  a  chew  of  tobacco,  provisions  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill.  Of  this  bill  I  have  a  right  to  speak — God  forgive  me 
for  so  enormous  and  dreadful  a  political  sin  ! — I  voted  for  the  bill.  I 
thought  the  people  were  to  have  the  right  to  form  their  own  institu- 
tions, and  went  to  Kansas  to  organize  the  Democratic  party  there, 
and  make  the  state  Democratic ;  but  the  Missouri  invaders  poured  in 
— the  ballot-boxes  were  desecrated — the  bogus  legislature  was  elected 
by  armed  mobs — you  know  the  rest. 

The  pro-slavery  fragment  of  the  Democratic  party  also  delights  in 
the  term  "nigger  worshipper,"  to  designate  Free-State  men.  I  will 


THE    INFAMOUS    SLAVE    CODE.  105 

show  you  that  these  Pro-Slavery  men  are  of  all  "nigger  worshippers" 
the  most  abject.  According  to  the  Kansas  code,  [Col.  Lane  read  from 
the  book,  giving  page  and  section,]  if  a  person  kidnapped  a  white  child 
the  utmost  penalty  is  six  months  in  jail — if  a  "nigger"  baby,  the 
penalty  is  death  !  Who  worship  "niggers,"  and  slave  "nigger"  ba- 
bies, at  that?  To  kidnap  a  white  child  into  slavery,  six  months  in 
jail ! — to  kidnap  a  "  nigger  "  into  freedom,  death  ! 

He  concluded  his  scathing  review  of  the  code  as  fol- 
lows : 

Is  there  an  Illinoisan  who  says  enforce  these  monstrous  iniquities 
called  laws?  Show  me  the  men.  The  people  of  Kansas  never  will  obey 
them.  They  are  being  butchered  ;  and  one  and  all  will  die  first !  As 
for  myself,  I  am  going  back  to  Kansas,  where  there  is  an  indictment 
pending  against  me  for  high  treason.  Were  the  rope  about  my  neck, 
I  would  say  that,  as  to  the  Kansas  code,  it  shall  not  be  enforced. 
Never!  never! 

Following,  he  argued  elaborately  and  conclusively, 
the  right  of  Kansas  to  come  into  the  Union  as  a  free  state 
"  now  !"  He  closed  his  speech  with  a  detailed  account 
of  the  murders  and  outrages  perpetrated  upon  the  Free- 
State  settlers,  given  with  a  masterly  power  of  tragic  de- 
lineation, which  brought  each  particular  horror,  blood- 
red  and  distinct,  before  the  eyes  of  the  excited  throng: 

He  knew  of  fourteen  cases  of  tarring  and  feathering — the  most  aw- 
ful and  humiliating  outrage  ever  inflicted  on  man  !  He  told  of  Dow 
shot  dead  while  holding  up  his  hands  as  a  sign  of  his  defenselessness 
— lying,  like  a  dead  dog  in  the  road  all  the  long  day,  until  in  the 
evening,  his  friends  found  his  body,  dabbled  in  his  life-blood,  and 
bore  it  away ;  Barber,  unarmed,  shot  on  the  highway,  brought  dead 
to  Lawrence,  where  his  frantic  wife,  a  childless  widow,  'mid  shrieks 
of  anguish,  kissed  the  pallid  lips  that  to  her  were  silent  evermore ! 
Brown,  stabbed,  pounded,  hacked  with  the  hatchet,  bleeding  and 
dying,  kicked  into  the  presence  of  his  wife,  where  in  agony  he 
breathed  out  his  life — she  now  a  maniac ! 


106     ARRAIGNS    PRESIDENT    PIERCE    AS    A    MURDERER. 

A  voice  from  the  crowd  called,  "Who  was  Brown  ?" 
Brown  was  as  gallant  a  spirit  as  ever  went  to  his  God  !  And  a  De- 
mocrat at  that — not  one  of  the  Pro-Slavery  fragment,  though.  For 
the  blood  of  free  men  shed  on  the  soil  of  Kansas — for  the  blood  now 
flowing  in  the  streets  of  Lawrence — for  every  drop  that  has  been  shed 
since  the  people  asked  to  be  admitted  as  a  state — the  administration 
is  responsible.  Before  God  and  this  people,  I  arraign  Frank  Pierce  as 
a  murderer ! 

In  conclusion,  I  have  only  this  to  say:  The  people  of  Kansas  have 
undying  faith  in  the  justice  of  their  cause — in  the  eternal  life  of  the 
truths  maintained — and  they  ask  the  people  of  Illinois  to  do  for  them 
that  which  seems  to  them  just. 

The  Chicago  Tribune,  in  its  report  of  the  meeting, 
June  2,  1856,  says : 

We  regret  we  can  only  give  a  meagre  outline  of  the  eloquent  and 
telling  effort  of  Col.  Lane.  He  was  listened  to  with  the  deepest  in- 
terest and  attention  by  the  vast  throng ;  and  as  he  detailed  the  series 
of  infamous  outrages  inflicted  upon  the  free  men  of  Kansas,  the  peo- 
ple were  breathless  with  mortification  and  anger,  or  wild  with  enthu- 
siasm to  avenge  those  wrongs.  During  Col.  Lane's  address,  he  was 
often  interrupted  by  the  wildest  applause,  or  )by  deep  groans  for 
Pierce,  Douglas,  Atchison,  and  the  doughfaces  and  ruffians  who  had 
oppressed  Kansas,  and  by  cheers  for  Sumner,  Robinson  and  other 
noble  men  who  have  dared  and  suffered  for  liberty. 

Language  is  inadequate  to  give  the  reader  a  conception  of  the  effect 
of  the  recital  of  that  tale  of  woe  which  men  from  Kansas  had  to  tell ; 
the  rigid  muscles  and  the  frowning  brows  told  a  story  to  the  looker-on 
that  types  cannot  repeat.  From  the  fact  that  the  immense  crowd 
kept  their  feet  from  eight  to  twelve  o'clock,  and  that  even  then  they 
were  unwilling  the  speakers  should  cease,  or  that  the  contributions 
should  stop ;  from  the  fact  that  working  men,  who  have  only  the 
wages  of  the  day  for  the  purchase  of  the  day's  .bread,  emptied  the 
contents  of  their  pockets  into  the  general  fund  ;  that  sailors  threw  in 
their  earnings ;  that  widows  sent  up  their  savings ;  that  boys  contrib- 


MOST    REMARKABLE    MEETING    EVER    HELD.  107 

uted  their  pence  ;  that  those  who  had  no  money,  gave  what  they  had 
to  spare  ;  that  those  who  had  nothing  to  give,  offered  to  go  as  settlers, 
and  do  their  duty  to  freedom  on  that  now  consecrated  soil ;  that  every 
bold  declaration  for  liberty,  every  allusion  to  the  Revolution  of  '76, 
and  to  the  possibility  that  the  battles  of  that  period  were  to  be  fought 
over  again  in  Kansas,  were  received  as  those  things  most  to  be  de- 
sired— something  of  the  tone  and  temper  of  the  meeting  may  be  im- 
agined. .  .  .  Take  it  with  its  attending  circumstances — 
the  shortness  of  the  notice,  the  character  of  the  assembled  multitude, 
and  the  work  which  was  accomplished — it  was  the  most  remarkable 
meeting  ever  held  in  the  state.  We  believe  it  will  inaugurate  a  new 
era  in  Illinois.  We  believe  it  is  the  precursor  of  the  liberation  of 
Kansas  from  the  hand  of  the  oppressor,  and  of  an  all-pervading  polit- 
ical revolution  at  home. 

About  half  past  twelve,  Sunday  having  come,  the  meeting  unwil- 
lingly adjourned,  and  the  crowd  reluctantly  went  home.  At  a  later 
hour,  the  Star-Spangled  Banner  and  the  Marseillaise,  sung  by  bands 
of  men,  whose  hearts  were  full  of  the  spirit  of  these  magnificent 
hymns,  were  the  only  evidences  of  the  event  that  we  have  endeavored 
to  describe. 

This  demonstration  of  Lane,  the  concoction  of  his  own 
brain,  was  but  twelve  days  from  the  hour  when  Atchison, 
Acting  Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  sighted  a 
cannon  at  the  Free  State  Hotel  at  Lawrence,  and  razed 
it  to  its  foundation  with  ball  and  fire,  and  burned  and 
pillaged  much  other  property  ;  and,  in  exhorting  his  co- 
horts, lest  some  defenseless  woman  should  attempt  to 
protect  her  home,  advised  them  to  "blow  her  to  hell 
with  a  chunk  of  cold  lead  ! ' '  Kansas  onward  for  a  time 
became  almost  literally  a  sheet  of  flame,  and  homes  were 
demolished  and  sacked  and  burned. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  go  into  details  of  his  campaign  for 
Fremont  for  the  Presidency  in  1856.  He  made  hurried 


108  IN    OHIO,    NEW   YORK    AND   CONNECTICUT. 

tours  all  over  the  free  states,  speaking  in  the  larger  cities 
with  the  same  power  and  effect  which  he  manifested  at 
Chicago.  I  was  in  Northern  Ohio  when  he  spoke  at 
Cleveland,  and  representative  men  of  all  parties,  far  and 
near,  rushed  to  hear  him  in  his  story  of  Kansas  wrongs, 
when,  but  for  the  difference  in  the  time  and  the  occasion, 
his  effort  there  could  hardly  have  been  secondary  to  that 
at  Chicago.  Hon.  Mark  W.  Delahay,  United  States 
District  Judge  for  the  State  of  Kansas,  told  me  an  amu- 
sing story  of  their  appearance  together  in  New  York, 
hungry,  in  a  restaurant,  Lane  penniless,  and  Delahay 
with  only  seventy-five  cents,  begging  his  co-partner  to 
moderate  his  appetite  for  another  meal ;  but  they  left 
that  table  without  the  means  for  a  plate  of  soup.  ' '  How 
on  earth,"  said  I,  "  did  you  get  out  of  that  great  city?" 
"  Oh,"  said  Delahay,  laughing,  "  Lane  hunted  up  a  com- 
mittee, replenished  our  treasury,  and  the  committee  got 
out  bills,  and  rented  a  hall  with  such  good  results  that 
they  sent  us  on  our  way  rejoicing,  for  an  assault  on  Dem- 
ocratic Connecticut!" 


CHAPTER  IX. 

LANE'S  MILITARY  DEFENSE  OF  KANSAS  IN   1856' 

The  confident  declaration  of  Hon.  Joseph  Medill,  in 
his  spirited  description  of  the  meeting  and  his  laudation 
of  the  speaker,  ' '  We  believe  it  is  the  precursor  of  the  lib- 
eration of  Kansas  from  the  hand  of  the  oppressor,"  has 
long  since  passed  the  limit  of  prophecy,  and  become  his- 
toric. It  was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  And  that  other 
prediction  of  "an  all-pervading  political  revolution  at 
home! "how  significantly  it  has  reverberated  in  every 
home  of  the  Union  !  Chicago  was  the  centre  of  thought 
and  of  energy  and  of  help  in  that  great  conflict ;  and  the 
Chicago  Tribune  was  the  mouth-piece  which  gave  utter- 
ance to  the  thoughts  of  the  Great  West  in  a  conflict,  the 
like  of  which  the  world  had  never  seen.  An  incident 
occurred  in  the  Tribune  office  shortly  after  this  event 
which  illustrates  the  spirit  of  the  times.  I  was  sitting 
at  the  editorial  table  of  Gov.  Bross,  sadly  talking  over 
some  bad  news  from  Kansas,  when  a  solemn-looking 
individual,  with  a  white  neck-choker,  sedately  advanced 
to  the  Governor,  and  mildly  inquired  :  ' '  Is  this  Deacon 
Bross?"  He  modestly  responded  :  "  They  sometimes  call 


]10  HIS   VOICE    WAS    FOR   WAR. 

me  deacon."  "I  am,"  said  the  mild-mannered  man, 
"  a  representative  of  the  American  Society  for  the  Pro- 
motion of  Peace  ;  and  I  called  to  see  if  you  could  help 
us. "  ' '  No  !  by  the  Eternal  God  !  my  voice  is  for  war  ! " 
exclaimed  Bross,  bringing  his  solid  fist  down  on  the 
table  till  it  bounded  as  if  the  ghost  of  Beelzebub  had  ap- 
peared at  a  spiritualistic  seance.  And  the  "peace  pro- 
motor  ' '  made  two  strides  for  the  door,  and  was  seen  no 
more.  The  war  spirit  was  up,  and  Kansas  was  to  be  de- 
fended. 

There  has  been  given  in  Chapter  VI  an  account  of  the 
causes  which  led  to  the  troubles  of  1856,  to  wit :  the  re- 
turn of  S.  N.  Wood,  who  had  been  connected  with  the 
rescue  of  Branson,  which  brought  on  the  Wakarusa  war 
of  the  previous  fall.  Branson  had  committed  no  crime, 
and  was  noted  as  a  peaceable,  inoffensive  man,  taking 
but  little  part  in  public  affairs ;  but  Wood  was  a  bold, 
aggressive,  fearless  Free-State  man  ;  and  an  excuse  was 
wanted  for  driving  all  such  men  from  the  Territory. 

Gen.  Lane  had  been  in  Washington  during  the  winter, 
and  was  there  when  the  outbreak  occurred.  If  he  was 
in  Kansas  before  the  22d  of  July,  as  I  have  no  doubt  he 
was,  he  was  there  incognito,  on  account  of  indictments. 
At  that  date,  he  boldly  crossed  the  Missouri  river,  at 
'Nebraska  City,  with  three  hundred  men.  A  convention 
was  held  at  Buffalo  on  the  9th  and  10th  of  the  same 
month  to  aid  Kansas,  and  at  that  convention,  that  great 
philanthropist,  Hon.  Gerrit  Smith,  subscribed  one  thou- 
sand dollars  per  month.  A  messenger  from  Lane's  camp 


THE    LOWER    HOUSE    SUSTAINS    KANSAS.  Ill 

in  Iowa  arrived,  and  made  an  eloquent  report  to  the  con- 
vention. A  National  Kansas  Committee  was  appointed, 
of  which  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  member,  and  on  my 
motion,  Col.  Shaler  W.  Eldridge  was  made  the  Kansas 
member,  and  during  that  summer,  he  led  a  company  of 
emigrants  to  Kansas  over  "  Lane's  road."  About  that 
time,  Hon.  John  Sherman  introduced  an  amendment  to 
the  army  appropriation  bill,  prohibiting  the  enforcement 
of  the  Bogus  laws,  which  passed  the  United  States  House 
of  Representatives  by  a  vote  of  88  to  40  ;  thus  virtually 
sustaining  Lane  and  his  "army"  by  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  American  Congress,  fresh  from  the  people. 
Quite  early  in  the  summer  of  1856,  when,  if  Lane  was 
in  Kansas,  he  was  known  as  "  Captain  Cook,"  a  cogno- 
men adopted  to  avoid  arrest,  C.  W.  Topliff  and  0.  E. 
Learnard  had  a  command,  we  think  under  the  respective 
titles  of  Colonel  and  Lieutenant  Colonel,  though  it  would 
be  misleading  to  call  it  a  regiment.  This  organization 
was  camped  on  an  island  of  Coal  creek,  two  or  three  miles 
south  of  the  Wakarusa — I  think  on  the  land  of  Hon. 
Amasa  Soule,  long  since  deceased.  Small  in  numbers, 
perhaps  not  to  exceed  three  hundred  men,  they  were 
nevertheless,  of  great  significance  in  keeping  up  a  mili- 
tary organization,  a  standing  menace  to  the  invaders, 
and  a  perpetual  notice  of  readiness  for  resistance  to  the 
whole  state  of  Missouri.  Lane  arrived  in  Kansas  early 
in  August,  and  established  a  cordon  of  forts  on  Lane's 
road  from  the  Nebraska  line  to  Topeka,  bringing  in 
about  six  hundred  men.  He  was  an  uncertain  quantity 


112  CAPTAIN    COOK    ON    THE    WHITE    HORSE. 

in  the  conflicts  then,  generally  known  only  to  those  who 
could  be  trusted  to  know  him  as  "  Captain  Cook  on  the 
white  horse' ' — a  horse  of  mine  which  he  "  borrowed ' ' 
when  I  was  a  thousand  miles  away — and  much  of  my 
information  was  acquired  from  Captain  Charles  F.  Gor- 
rett,  who  was  his  confidant  and  adviser,  in  nearly  all 
the  skirmishes  and  engagements  of  that  summer. 

In  August  of  that  year,  a  pretty  large  body  of  Pro- 
Slavery  men,  Misssourians,  South  Carolinians  and  Geor- 
gians, advanced  through  what  is  now  Johnson  to  near  the 
Douglas  county  line,  but  was  then  an  Indian  reserva- 
tion, unsettled  by  whites  and  but  sparsely  settled  by  In- 
dians, penetrated  the  white  settlements  at  Bull  creek ,  not 
far  from  what  is  now  Lanesfield  postoffice.  Lane  called 
promptly  to  arms,  made  a  forced  march,  and  a  brilliant 
demonstration,  with  a  very  inferior  force,  the  dash  and 
impudence  of  the  gallant  Free-State  boys  rushing  them 
out  of  Kansas,  with  such  celerity  as  to  make  the  enemy 
the  laughing  stock  of  the  country.  Col.  0.  E.  Learnard, 
in  command  of  cavalry,  took  an  active  part  in  this  sor- 
tie ;  and  he  says  that  Lane  was  conspicuously  in 
command,  with  a  staff  of  thirty  men,  actively  and  ener- 
getically ordering  the  charge. 

The  trials  of  Leavenworth  (county  and  city)  Free-State 
men  are  indescribable,  and  seem  incredible  :  Hoppe  was 
shot  and  scalped  by  Fugit,  on  a  bet  that  he  would  bring 
in  a  Yankee  scalp  in  an  hour,  and  he  soon  brought  the 
gruesome  object,  elevated  on  a  pole  ;  a  lone  grave  near 
Moore's  Summit  long  showed  the  resting  place  of  one  of 


A    DEMONSTRATION    IN    LEAVENWORTH    COUNTY.       113 

Emory's  innocent  victims  :  scores  pushed  on  boats  ahead 
of  Pro-Slavery  bayonets  testified  against  tyranny  in  their 
Eastern  homes,  or  came  back  by  way  of  Iowa,  to  fight 
freedom's  battle  out  on  freedom's  soil ;  Phillips,  who  had 
been  tarred  and  feathered  and  sold  for  a  sixpence  to  a 
negro,  was  murdered,  in  his  own  house,  in  the  presence 
of  his  family,  the  blood  spurting  on  a  young  lady,  an 
Eastern  guest,  who  still  lives  in  Lawrence,  (Mrs.  Nancy 
A.  G.  Libey,)  who  rarely  can  be  persuaded  to  tell  the 
horrible  story  !  Details  are  sickening  !  In  this  crisis, 
Lane  proposed  to  Col.  Learnard  to  join  with  John  Brown 
in  a  night  demonstration  from  Stranger  creek,  near  where 
Hon.  John  Wright  lived,  all  around  that  country,  where 
it  was  reported  the  enemy  had  two  thousand  men.  He 
declined  co-operation  with  Brown,  but  took  a  force  of  a 
hundred  and  forty  horsemen,  and  in  the  darkness,  made 
a  night  raid,  meeting  no  opposition.  It  had  the  effect, 
however,  of  giving  confidence  to  the  Free-State  settlers, 
and  notification  to  the  enemy  that  they  were  ready  for 
action.  It  was  reported  that  messengers  were  sent  to 
Weston,  Missouri,  representing  that  Lane  was  scouring 
the  country  with  more  than  a  thousand  men  ;  and  that 
the  Weston  bells  were  rung  for  fire,  the  people  aroused, 
and  measures  taken  for  action. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  go  into  details  of  his  capture  of 
Franklin,  Fort  Titus,  or  his  descent  upon  Lecompton, 
with  his  forces  in  line,  and  the  cannon,  known  as  the 
Old  Sacramento,  frowning  over  the  entrenchments, 
where  its  capture  was  only  prevented  by  the  interven- 


114  THE    MURDER    OF    HOYT. 

tion  of  United  States  troops  under  Col.  Philip  St. 
George  Cooke.  Each  of  these  places  were  fortifications 
of  considerable  strength  against  merely  small  arms.  At 
Fort  Saunders  was  a  solid  log  house,  besides  breastworks 
of  considerable  strength,  with  a  superior  force  to  Lane's, 
but  he  made  an  exhibition  of  force,  by  marching  around 
elevated  objects,  which  alarmed  the  enemy,  and  they 
fled  the  country  in  all  directions.  This  was  the  place 
where  they  had  so  brutally  murdered  David  S.  Hoyt, 
a  Massachusetts  man,  hacking  his  face  to  prevent  iden- 
tification, and  burying  his  body  so  lightly  that  it  was  a 
prey  for  wild  beasts.  Col.  Learnard  told  me  that  when 
a  body  of  Free-State  men  went  in  search  of  the  murdered 
man,  they  could  smell  his  remains  in  the  woods,  for  a  long 
distance  before  they  found  them.  Hoyt  went  unarmed, 
on  a  mission  of  peace,  stopped  on  his  way  at  my  house, 
said  that  a  leading  man  among  them  was  a  Mason,  and 
he  believed  he  could  have  some  influence  with  him  in  the 
promotion  of  peace.  He  had  been  a  bombardier  in  the 
Mexican  war,  a  soldier  relying  upon  the  honor  of  a  sol- 
dier;  but,  during  the  previous  winter,  he  had  started 
from  Boston  with  a  lot  of  Sharp's  rifles,  which  were 
captured  on  the  Missouri  river,  though  he  got  away  with 
the  lock  apparatus,  rendering  them  useless. 

The  defense  of  Franklin  was  a  large  heavy  frame  house, 
impregnable  by  any  force  he  could  collect ;  but  for  a  long 
time,  the  house  stood  at  Franklin,  riddled  with  bullets, 
many  of  them  imbedded  in  the  siding,  as  an  evidence  of 
the  assault.  It  was  a  night  attack,  and  he  found  a  load 


CAPTURE    OF    FORT   TITUS.  115 

of  hay  on  a  wagon  ;  and  keeping  up  a  fusillade  of  bullets 
from  a  diagonal  stand-point,  he  placed  a  body  of  men  at 
the  wagon's  tongue,  and  set  the  hind  end  on  fire,  illumi- 
nating the  prairies,  as  they  rushed  it  upon  the  building. 
The  enemy  fled  in  terror,  while  the  Free-State  men  saved 
the  building  from  destruction  by  fire.  The  house  was 
removed  to  Lawrence,  and  for  some  time  was  the  best 
hotel  in  that  city,  known  as  the  Sherman  House,  and 
still  stands  on  New  Hampshire  street.  From  its  bal- 
cony Gen.  Sherman  made  a  famous  speech  shortly  after 
his  great  campaign  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea. 

Fort  Titus  was  a  log  fortification,  on  a  hillside,  two 
miles  from  Lecompton,  with  log  and  stone  breastworks 
around  it,  and  was  the  headquarters  of  Col.  Titus,  a 
Georgian,  afterwards  with  Walker,  the  Cuban  fillibus- 
ter.  Border-Ruffian  Maclean,  afterwards  on  Gen.  Price's 
staff,  in  the  Price  Raid  into  Kansas  in  1864,  was  one  of 
Titus'  officers.  Capt.  Samuel  Walker  had  the  principal 
charge  of  this  assault,  while  Capt.  Thomas  Bickerton  had 
charge  of  the  cannon.  Twenty  prisoners  were  captured 
and  the  house  burned.  Captain  Walker  resisted  a  de- 
termined effort  to  hang  Titus.  Captain  Henry  J.  Shom- 
bre,  one  of  Lane's  company  from  the  East,  and  a  very 
promising  young  man,  was  wounded,  and  died  two  days 
afterward. 

On  the  fifth  day  of  September,  Gen.  Lane  determined 
to  make  an  assault  on  Lecompton.  The  outrages  were 
intolerable  ;  and  it  was  determined  that  the  imprisoned, 
persecuted  Free-State  men  held  under  Bogus  authority 


116  IN    LINE    AT    LECOMPTON. 

should  be  released — not  those  held  for  treason  under 
United  States  soldiers — for,  with  Lane  and  all  his  fol- 
lowers, under  no  circumstances  did  they  disregard  the  flag 
of  the  country  or  its  officers.  The  line  of  march  ordered 
by  Lane  was  directly  on  or  near  the  old  "  middle  road ' ' 
till  they  should  arrive  within  a  mile  of  the  George  W. 
Clarke  place,  (he  of  Barber  murder  notoriety ;)  thence 
westwardly  the  cavalry  and  the  infantry  were  to  divide, 
the  former  taking  the  prairie  or  middle  road,  and  the 
latter  through  the  woods,  near  a  blind  road  up  the  river. 
Col.  Samuel  Walker  was  the  superior  officer,  but  was 
in  command  of  the  infantry  by  the  river  road,  Lane 
accompanying  him,  and  Mr.  J.  H.  Shimmons  acting  as 
guide ;  while  Lieutenant-Colonel  Learnard  had  entire 
command  of  the  cavalry,  six  companies  ;  while  Captain 
James  A.  Harvey  led  a  considerable  force  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Kansas  river.  Shimmons  resided  among  the 
Pro-Slavery  men  in  the  woods  near  Lecompton,  and  no 
man  was  better  posted  on  their  trails,  nor  more  useful, 
than  he.  These  two  commands  advanced  towards  the 
scene  of  action,  Walker's  halting  on  the  heights  in  front 
of  the  capitol,  and  Learnard' s  on  the  first  hill  south  of 
Lecompton,  and  directly  between  the  camp  of  the  United 
States  troops  and  that  town. 

Another  true  anti-slavery  man,  a  near  neighbor  of 
Clarke,  whom  Clarke  had  threatened  and  attempted  to 
kill,  and  once  assaulted  in  a  public  meeting  at  Law- 
rence, was  Alphonso  Jones,  who  was  prompt  and  useful 
in  giving  information,  and  acting  as  guide. 


"CAPTAIN    COOK"    IN    THE    RANKS.  117 

The  Pro-Slavery  forces  were  in  Lecompton,  and  had 
fortified  the  basement  of  the  Territorial  capitol ;  but 
there  was  a  hurrying  to  and  fro  to  get  messages  to  the 
United  States  troops,  for  help  against  the  "  abolition- 
ists." Soon  the  government  cavalry  came  upon  a  dash, 
with  little  regularity  of  march,  and  were  halted,  and 
Major  Sibley  demanded  of  Learnard  what  was  wanted. 
Learnard  very  mildly  informed  him  that  there  were  some 
prisoners  in  Lecompton,  for  whose  release  they  had 
waited  long  enough,  and  they  had  come  to  take  them. 
Just  then  Col.  Sam.  Walker  rode  up  from  the  other  com- 
mand, and  sat  upon  his  horse  listening.  Sibley  stated 
to  Learnard  that  the  prisoners  would  be  released,  and 
added:  ''Now,  you  have  my  word  as  an  officer,  and  I 
know  you  have  confidence  that  the  promise  will  be  ful- 
filled. Now  just  retire  with  your  command,  and  let  us 
have  peace."  "No,"  said  Learnard,  "I  cannot  do 
that."  "  Why  not?"  demanded  Sibley.  "  I  am  not  in 
command."  Sibley  said  he  had  spent  his  life  in  the 
army,  and  been  through  the  Mexican  war,  but  he  never 
saw  any  such  warfare  as  this.  "  Who  is  in  command?" 
"Gen.  Lane."  "Where  is  he?  and  how  can  I  see 
him?"  "  He  is  among  the  trees,  with  another  com- 
mand, on  the  other  hill,  getting  ready  to  fire  on  Le- 
compton. Col.  Walker  will  conduct  you."  Off  went 
Sibley  and  officers. 

At  this  juncture,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cooke,  in  com- 
mand, appears  upon  the  scene,  apparently  just  from  the 
Governor  and  other  civil  officers,  and,  simultaneously,  a 


118  GEN.    LANE    IN    COMMAND. 

United  States  marshal,  with  writs  for  Lane,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  presence  of  the  military  officers,  to  demand 
their  assistance  to  arrest  him.  Charles  H.  Hoyt,  a  lad 
of  twelve  years,  stood  in  the  ranks,  boy-like,  ready  to 
"kill  them  all."  Instantly  appreciating  the  situation, 
Lane  said:  "Boy,  take  my  horse!"  and  Lane  was  in 
the  ranks,  an  old  slouch-hat  drooping  over  his  face,  in 
grim  defiance  of  all.  The  marshal  demanded  protection, 
while  he  should  pass  along  the  lines  to  search  him  out, 
which  Cooke  sternly  refused,  reprimanding  him  by  say- 
ing, "  Marshal,  you  are  a  very  indiscreet  man.  Get 
back  to  Lecompton."  A  dozen  guns  were  leveled  upon 
him,  with  exclamations,  "Shoot  him!  shoot  him!" 
and  one  of  Lane's  men  stepped  up  and  took  his  revol- 
ver without  the  least  show  of  resistance.  The  marshal 
very  excitedly  protested  that  he  could  not  get  back  ;  that 
there  was  an  abolitionist  behind  every  tree.  Lane  de- 
clined to  see  Cooke,  and  probably  Cooke  did  not  want  to 
see  Lane.  Through  the  interposition  of  Col.  Walker  and 
John  H.  Shimmons  with  Lane,  the  frightened  Marshal 
Cramer  was  given  safe  conduct  past  "abolitionists  be- 
hind every  tree,"  showing  such  mercy  to  a  man  who 
was  attempting  to  take  Lane  to  a  tortured  murder  like 
that  to  which  Reese  P.  Brown  had  been  led  at  Easton. 
Thus  the  negotiations  went  on ;  the  prisoners  were  re- 
leased ;  and  ' '  Captain  Cook ' '  left  the  ranks,  mounted 
his  horse,  and  rode  home  triumphantly  as  Gen.  Lane, 
at  the  head  of  his  command. 

It  will  make  the  situation  much  clearer  to  give  as 


REPORT  OF  COLONEL  COOKE.  119 

much  of  Colonel  Cooke's  official  report  to  his  superior 
officer  as  is  necessary  to  show  his  view  of  the  condition, 
the  guns  shotted  on  the  "  rocky  hill,"  Captain  Bickerton 
swearing  because  the  fuse  was  not  applied,  Colonel  Lear- 
nard  ready  for  the  cavalry  charge,  and  Captain  Harvey 
among  the  trees,  to  cut  them  off  from  fording  the  Kan- 
sas river,  on  their  retreat  to  Missouri,  from  whence  they 

had  come  : 

HEADQUARTERS,  ) 

CAMP  NEAR  LECOMPTON,  September  5,  1856.  ) 

MAJOR:  ....  At  3:30  some  citizens  entered  camp 
in  haste,  reporting  a  large  force  approaching  Lecompton  from  below. 
I  sounded  "  boots  and  saddles."  In  a  few  minutes  I  received  a  note 
from  the  Governor,  reporting  the  same,  and  asking  my  protection  for 
the  town,  etc.  I  immediately  ordered  the  Sergeant  of  the  guard  to 
be  sent,  with  the  relief  of  the  guard  kept  saddled,  to  endeavor  to  in- 
terpose between  the  town  and  threatening  force,  (which  was  well 
executed  by  Corporal  Batty,  Company  C,  First  Cavalry.)  At  the 
same  time  I  sent  off  Captain  Anderson  with  the  dismounted  dragoons. 
Some  minutes  after,  I  marched  in  person  at  the  head  of  a  squadron  of 
Second  Dragoons,  ordering  the  First  Cavalry  and  Artillery  to  follow 
as  their  preparations  were  completed. 

About  a  mile  from  town  I  joined  the  dismounted  command,  and, 
rising  the  hill  prairie  above  the  town,  came  upon  the  flank  of  about 
60  mounted  men  in  line,  who  remained  motionless.  Ordering  the 
dragoons  to  halt  nearly  in  open  column,  I  rode  in  front  of  the  Law- 
rence men,  and  accosted  Captain  Walker,  who  was  in  command,  ask- 
ing what  he  came  after.  He  answered,  that  they  came  to  release 
prisoners,  and  have  their  rights.  He  said  they  had  sent  into  town  to 
treat  with  the  Governor.  I  asked  him  if  that  was  all  their  men.  He 
said,  oh  no,  there  were  700  more  close  by.  I  told  him  it  was  a  very 
unfortunate  move  on  their  part ;  that  the  prisoners  had  been  ordered 
to  be  released ;  and,  among  other  things,  said  if  they  attacked  the 
town,  I  should  attack  them.  He  asked  me  if  I  would  go  with  him  to 
the  main  body.  I  consented,  and  sent  an  order  to  Colonel  Johnston, 


120  COLONEL  COOKE  SPEAKS. 

then  arriving  on  the  hill,  to  remain  there  in  command  of  the  troops 
until  I  returned ;  and  taking  Lieutenant  Riddick,  acting  Assistant 
Quartermaster,  an  orderly  and  bugler,  rode  with  him  towards  the 
woods,  near  the  town. 

Discarding  all  personal  feeling,  I  had  then  in  mind  the  instructions 
of  August  28,  viz:  "  If  it  should  come  to  your  knowledge  that  either 
side  is  moving  upon  the  other  with  a  view  to  attack,  it  will  become 
your  duty  to  observe  their  movements,  and  to  prevent  such  hostile  col- 
lision," and  to  "make  every  exertion  in  your  power,  with  the  force 
under  your  orders,  to  preserve  the  peace  and  prevent  bloodshed." 

I  arrived,  with  Mr.  Walker  in  rear  of  the  main  force,  on  an  abrupt 
eminence  commanding  the  town,  over  a  wooded  and  rocky  ravine, 
within  long  gun-shot.  They  had  two  pieces  of  artillery  in  position, 
and  their  visible  numbers  might  not  have  been  above  three  hundred 
men. 

I  asked  Mr.  Walker  to  collect  the  officers  in  front  of  the  line,  and 
some  twenty  or  thirty  approached  me  mounted.  At  the  moment 
there  was  an  altercation  with  a  Mr.  Cramer,  Treasurer  of  the  Terri- 
tory, whom  they  had  just  made  prisoner,  who  appealed  to  me,  stating 
he  was  a  United  States  officer,  and  that  he  had  been  sent  to  me.  I 
addressed  these  principal  men.  I  said :  "  You  have  made  a  most  un- 
fortunate move  for  yourselves ;  the  Missourians,  you  know,  have 
gone,  and  the  militia  here  are  nearly  gone,  having  commenced  cross- 
ing the  river  yesterday  morning,  to  my  knowledge.  As  to  the  pris- 
oners, whilst  I  will  make  no  TERMS  with  you,  I  can  INFORM  you,  that 
they  were  promised  to  be  released  yesterday  morning ;  and  the  Gov- 
ernor this  morning  told  me  he  would  order  the  release  of  all  of  them, 
and  was  to  send  me  word  at  what  hour  I  should  send  a  guard  to 
escort  them  to  my  camp,  that,  therefore,  I  could  assure  their  prompt 
return  to  their  homes ;  that  everything  was  going  in  their  favor,  and 
that  it  apparently  would  be  so,  if  they  would  refrain  entirely  from  re- 
prisals or  any  outrages,  return  to  their  occupations,  and  show  mode- 
ration." I  required  the  release  of  the  prisoner,  Mr.  Cramer,  and 
their  return  to  Lawrence. 

I  was  asked  if  I  could  promise  that  affairs  would  be  set  right  at 
Leavenworth,  and  they  have  power  to  go  and  come.  Mentioning 


THE    AMERICAN    FLAG    AND    JIM    LANE'S    ORDER.  121 

several  cases  of  murders  or  killing,  even  this  morning,  I  answered, 
"  I  could  only  answer  for  this  vicinity  ;  that  things  could  not  be  set- 
tled in  a  moment ;  that  Gen.  Smith  was  close  to  Leavenworth,  and 
that  his  powers  and  views,  I  believed,  were  the  same  as  mine."  I 
was  then  asked  the  ever-recurring  question,  if  I  should  attack  them, 
if  they  attempted  there  to  redress  themselves  or  defend  themselves? 
I  replied,  "  I  give  no  pledges ;  that  my  mission  was  to  preserve  the 
peace." 

Great  regret  was  expressed  by  them  that  they  had  not  been  informed 
before  of  these  events ;  said  they  had  waited  long ;  that  their  messen- 
gers were  killed  or  made  prisoners,  and  mentioned  that  a  regiment 
was  then  over  the  river,  and  apprehended  that  it  would  lead  to  bad 
results,  and  I  was  asked  to  send  to  them  to  go  back  to  Lawrence.  I 
suggested  that  a  written  order  should  be  sent,  and  one  was  afterwards 
handed  me ;  they  then  released  three  prisoners,  and  marched  off  to 
return,  whilst  I  rode  over  to  the  town  with  the  released  prisoners.  I 
found  one  or  two  hundred  militia,  whom  I  had  previously  seen  oppo- 
site, among  the  walls  of  the  new  capitol,  under  General  Marshall. 

I  found  the  Governor,  and  informed  him  of  my  action  and  its  re- 
sults. He  said  the  prisoners  HAD  been  released,  but,  in  fact,  the  or- 
der had  not  YET  been  executed.  Mention  was  made  of  prisoners  that 
had  been  taken  by  a  Lawrence  force  over  the  river ;  I  asked  the  Gov- 
ernor to  send  over  the  order  for  that  force  to  retire.  He  found  diffi- 
culties; when  Mr.  Riddick*  volunteered  to  go,  and  was  instructed 
also  to  obtain  the  release  of  any  prisoners.  Lane  had  evidently  been 
in  real  or  nominal  command,  but  had  not  presented  himself  to  me. 
Mr.  Sheriff  Jones  and  others  now  clamored  for  his  arrest ;  he  was  then 
gone  with  his  force  about  him.  The  Governor  spoke  of  writing  a 
requisition.  I  told  them,  on  an  impulse,  that  I  should  make  no  ar- 
rests this  night ;  but  soon  after  took  the  Governor  aside  and  told  him 


*  The  removal  of  the  "difficulties"  is  happily  accounted  for  when 
we  know  that  "Mr.  Riddick's"  other  title  was  "Lieutenant  Riddick, 
acting  Assistant  Quartermaster  United  States  Army,"  and  that  Gen- 
eral Lane  had  given  the  order  "handed  to"  Colonel  Cooke,  in  plain 
sight  of  both  officers.  Equipped  with  the  American  flag  and  an  order 
from  Jim  Lane,  "  Mr.  Riddick"  was  as  safe  any  place  in  Lane's  com- 
mand as  if  he  had  been  in  a  kindergarten. 


122          A    PLATOON    ESCORTS    THE    PRISONERS    HOME. 

I  recalled  that  decision,  and  said,  "If  you  want  him  arrested,  write 
your  requisition  ;  but  I  think,  on  reflection,  you  will  hardly  make  it." 
He  replied  he  would  not,  if  I  advised  against  it ;  and  the  matter 
dropped.  I  then  galloped  over  to  my  troops,  and  sent  a  platoon  to 
request  the  Governor  to  send  to  my  camp  the  released  prisoners  ;  and 
they  have  been  sent  here. 

With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

P.  ST.  G.  COOKE, 

Lieut.  Col.  Second  Dragoons,  Commanding. 
Major  GEORGE  DBAS, 

A.  A.  Gan.  Dept.  of  the  West,  Fort  Leavenworth,  K.  T. 

This  official  report  gives  facts  justifying  every  act  of 
the  Free-State  men.  It  admits  that  the  prisoners  had 
not  been  released,  although  the  order  had  been  made. 
It  was  to  avenge  oft-repeated  violations  of  faith  like  this 
that  made  force  necessary.  It  admits  that  Lecompton 
had  been  held  by  Missouri  invaders,  and  that  even  after 
prisoners  had  been  ordered  released,  their  lives  were 
only  safe  from  murder  and  assassination  under  govern- 
ment troops,  between  their  prison  and  their  families. 
Colonel  Cooke  says,  very  truly,  that  "Lane  had  evi- 
dently been  in  real  or  nominal  command,  but  had  not 
presented  himself"  to  him.  It  was  nevertheless  a  fact, 
that  General  Lane  had  stood  upon  his  dignity,  taking 
the  high  ground  of  superior  military  authority,  and  re- 
fused to  negotiate  except  through  Colonel  Walker,  his 
chief  of  staff,  and  that  Walker  went  to  and  fro  between 
them  in  full  sight,  not  a  hundred  feet  distant.  It  was 
about  then  that  Senator  Benton  said,  "President  Pierce 
is  as  completely  in  the  hands  of  Jefferson  Davis  as  the 


BATTLE    OF    HICKORY    POINT  123 

suckling  is  in  the  hands  of  its  nurse;"  and  this  report 
was  made  to  satisfy  the  war  department  under  Secretary 
Davis.  The  great  object  was  accomplished,  the  release 
of  the  prisoners,  and  Cooke  sent  them  home  ' '  under  a 
platoon  of  United  States  dragoons." 

His  last  engagement  of  1856,  was  just  as  Gov.  Geary 
was  entering  Kansas,  fully  empowered  by  the  govern- 
ment to  disperse  all  armed  bodies  of  both  sides.  On  the 
12th  of  September,  he  made  an  assault  on  Hickory 
Point,  in  which  Tom  McElroy,  Free-State,  and  Jack 
Henderson,*  Pro-Slavery,  were  wounded.  The  place 
was  a  collection  of  half  a  dozen  heavy,  well-built  log 
houses,  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  northwest  of  Law- 
rence. He  found  it  impracticable  to  capture  the  place 
without  heavy  loss  of  men.  He  retired,  went  into  camp 
for  the  night,  and  sent  two  messengers,  one  to  Topeka,  to 
notify  Captain  Dan.  Home  to  hold  himself  in  readiness 
for  Captain  Harvey,  of  Lawrence,  and  one  to  Harvey,  to 
come  at  once,  by  way  of  Topeka,  with  a  cannon,  to  cap- 
ture the  place.  After  these  messengers  were  dispatched, 
Lane  got  the  proclamation  of  Governor  Geary,  that  he 
was  in  command  of  United  States  forces  to  keep  the 
peace,  and  ordering  all  armed  bodies  to  disperse.  As 
he  had  absolutely,  but  unwittingly,  violated  the  procla- 


*  Captain  Charles  F.  Garrett  was  one  of  Lane's  men  at  Hickory 
Point.  Jack  Henderson  became  a  Union  man,  and  the  two  met  in 
different  commands  at  Nashville,  Tennessee ;  and  Jack,  approaching 
Captain  Garrett,  said:  "You  don't  know  me,  Captain?"  "Don't 
know  you  !"  said  Garrett ;  "  don't  know  you  !  Didn't  I  carry  water  in 
my  hat,  to  pour  on  your  back,  after  we  shot  you  at  Hickory  Point  ?" 


124  LANE    IN    NEBRASKA, 

mat-ion  of  Governor  Geary,  and  was  liable  to  arrest  by 
the  troops,  he  at  once  dispatched  other  messengers  to 
warn  both  Home  and  Harvey,  and  retreated  to  Nebraska, 
alleging  that  he  was  going  north  to  "  open  up  the  road,' ' 
where  the  Pro-Slavery  forces  of  Gen.  Richardson  were 
holding  the  country,  intercepting  emigration  by  the  way 
of  Iowa.  Harvey,  disregarding  Lane's  orders  to  "  come 
by  the  way  of  Topeka,"  took  a  nearer  route,  and  thereby 
failing  to  meet  the  messenger  or  find  Lane,  opened  fire 
upon  Hickory  Point,  captured  and  dispersed  the  enemy, 
killing  five  men,  and  then  encamped  for  the  night.  The 
United  States  forces  soon  came  and  captured  the  whole 
Harvey  command,  one  hundred  and  one  men  ;  and  they 
were  held  as  prisoners,  on  charge  of  murder,  at  Le- 
qompton. 

Shortly  thereafter  Gen.  Reid,  Pro-Slaveiy,  invested 
Lawrence  with  thirteen  hundred  men.  A  skirmish  oc- 
curred on  the  outskirts  of  the  town  in  which  Captains 
Walker  and  Cracklin  participated.  John  Brown  was 
with  this  defense,  but  disavowed  any  authority  to  com- 
mand, though  he  gave  them  some  wholesome  advice 
about  Sharp's  rifles  shooting  too  high.  In  this  dilemma 
Col.  Learnard,  with  a  company  of  cavalry,  did  efficient 
service  in  reconnoitring,  skirmishing,  and  giving  infor- 
mation of  danger.  Night  approaching,  Reid  retired. 
As  resistance  was  hopeless,  dispatches  were  sent  to  Gov. 
Geary  at  Lecompton  by  three  different  messengers,  by  ;is 
many  different  routes.  Gov.  H.  A.  W.  Tabor,  since  of 
Colorado,  was  one  of  the  messengers,  and  a  few  years 


CONCILIATING    NEBRASKA.  125 

ago,  described  to  me  very  graphically  the  dangers  of  the 
situation.  Geary  must  have  moved  with  great  celerity ; 
for  by  the  next  morning,  the  whole  prairie  around  Law- 
rence was  covered  with  United  States  troops. 

The  absence  of  Lane  at  the  time  of  this  occurrence  is 
already  explained.  While  Lane  was  at  Nebraska  City, 
a  caustic  article  was  published  in  Hon.  J.  Sterling  Mor- 
ton's paper  on  Lane  and  his  men  ;  and  the  first  I  knew, 
he  was  in  a  terrible  state  of  excitement,  exclaiming,  "A 
horse  I  a  horse  1  anybody's  horse!"  He  mounted  and 
went  with  the  swiftness  of  the  wind.  The  explanation 
was,  that  some  of  his  men  had  determined  to  mob  the 
paper.  Whether  this  was  true  or  not,  a  great  deal  of 
excitement  prevailed ;  and  he  called  ' '  a  conciliatory 
meeting  to  explain  to  the  people  of  Nebraska. "  Ne- 
braska was  neutral  ground,  and  strict  neutrality  was 
observed  by  Kansas  men.  Therefore,  Nebraska  City 
was  full  of  refugee  Pro-Slavery  men,  and  quite  a  number 
of  slaves  were  held  there,  some  of  them  by  Mr.  Niickols, 
afterward  Delegate  to  Congress  and  a  Union  man.  The 
meeting  opened  for  ' '  conciliation  "  in  a  very  boisterous 
manner.  He  seemed  "as  mild  a  mannered  man  as  ever 
scuttled  ship  or  cut  a  throat."  To  me  his  introduction 
was  irony  worse  than  Elijah's  mockery  of  the  false  pro- 
phets bringing  fire  from  heaven  ;  but  the  ruffians  seemed 
to  like  it.  It  was  somewhat  in  this  formula :  ' '  Mr. 
President,  and  you,  fellow-citizens :  I  am  pleased  with 
this  intelligent  audience ;  and  I  particularly  congratu- 
late myself  that  so  large  a  portion  of  the  neighboring 


126  COMPLIMENTS   TO    COL.   DONIPHAN. 

State  of  Missouri  are  here  to  honor  me  with  their 
presence.  [They  brought  their  knives  and  revolvers 
along  to  aid  in  the  "honors,"  but  our  men  (100)  had 
nearly  all  looked  down  the  muzzles  of  guns,  and  few  of 
theirs  had.]  Like  you,  I  am  a  Democrat.  I  made  a 
Democratic  speech  when  I  was  but  thirteen  years  old, 
which  the  fathers  of  Democracy  declared  to  be  orthodox. 
I  never  scratched  a  Democratic  ticket  in  my  life,  and 
probably  never  should,  had  I  not  come  to  Kansas,  where 
the}  organized  the  parties  ignoring  Democracy,  and  leav- 
ing no  Democratic  ticket  to  be  scratched.  I  even  voted 
in  Congress  for  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  leaving  it  to 
the  people  '  to  decide  upon  their  domestic  institutions  in 
their  own  way.'  That  is  all  I  want  now.  Keep  your 
institutions  in  Missouri  as  you  like  them .  Did  you  ever 
hear  of  Jim  Lane  interfering?  Never  !  Let  us  reason 
together.  I  was  a  soldier  in  the  Mexican  war,  fight- 
ing in  the  same  cause  with  your  brave  Doniphan,  lend- 
ing one  regiment  and  then  another  to  overtake  the  army 
before  we  reached  the  City  of  Mexico.  [He  had  them 
there.]  Oh !  that  that  hero  were  here  to-night !  The 
boys  would  take  him  on  their  shoulders,  and  carry  him 
to  our  camp-fire,  where  we  would  feast  together  in  har- 
mony and  love."  "The  boys"  shouted;  and  even  the 
Missourians  applauded.  What  were  "the  boys"  there 
for?  But  nobody  mentioned  that  they  had  the  cannon 
which  Colonel  Doniphan  had  captured  at  Sacramento  1 
"  Now  I  come  to  slavery.  Hear  me,  and  condemn,  if 
you  feel  like  it.  I  was  awakened  to  investigation  of  the 


BOUGHT    TWO    CARPENTERS    YESTERDAY.  127 

institution  on  the  coast  of  Mississippi,  where  I  was  dis- 
posing of  goods  in  a  store-boat.  I  had  with  me  a  young 
man,  a  carpenter  and  joiner,  a  skillful  workman,  as  in- 
telligent a  man  as  there  is  in  this  audience,  a  gentleman 
— like  the  mass  of  you,  gentlemen,  earning  his  living  by 
honest  labor.  On  the  bank  stood  a  lordly  mansion,  the 
home  of  a  sugar  planter,  who  was  adding  house  to  house 
on  his  great  estate.  I  went  with  this  young  man,  to  the 
proprietor,  who  sat  on  his  porch.  I  complimented  his 
institution,  and,  to  ingratiate  myself  with  him,  intro- 
duced myself  as  Colonel  Lane,  who  had  been  charmed 
with  the  Mississippi  valley  in  going  to  and  from  the 
scenes  of  the  Mexican  war ;  and  then  I  told  him  I  had 
here  a  young  man,  of  eminent  skill  as  a  carpenter  and 
joiner,  an  architect  capable  of  planning  as  well  as  exe- 
cuting, whom  I  recommended  for  his  honor  and  integ- 
rity, and  I  hoped  he  could  give  him  employment  which 
would  be  mutually  advantageous  to  both .  He  laid  him- 
self back,  with  his  thumbs  in  the  arinholes  of  his  vest, 
and  with  sneering  scorn,  replied :  '  I  bought  two  car- 
penters yesterday  !'  Great  God  !  If  such  men  are  buy- 
ing carpenters,  machinists,  engineers,  how  soon  will  they 
sell  you  and  me  in  their  marts  of  human  merchandise  !" 
He  had  that  audience  as  completely  as  Napoleon  had  his 
soldiers  when  he  rushed  ahead  of  them  at  the  Bridge  of 
Lodi ;  and  one  universal  burst  of  applause  attested  his 
triumph  as  an  orator. 

While   at  Nebraska  City,  our  command  marched  to 
Tabor,  in  Iowa,  an  intensely  anti-slavery  and  religious 


128  NO    CHICKEN    SQUAWKED    AT    TABOR 

town,  settled  principally  by  people  from  Oberlin,  Ohio. 
As  \ve  sat  eyes  upon  its  white  buildings  glittering  in  the 
sunlight,  the  command  went  out :  ' '  Halt !  We  are  now 
approaching  the  town  of  Tabor.  Its  people  are  a  moral 
and  religious  people.  That  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  say 
to  the  honorable  men  of  the  Kansas  Volunteers,  to  com- 
mand their  respect,  and  to  assure  the  good  people  that 
we  come  in  honesty  and  sincerity  as  the  advance  guard 
of  the  crusade  of  freedom.  There  will  be  no  immoral 
conduct — no  harsh  talk  while  here.  The  Kansas  sol- 
diers will  be  on  their  morals  at  Tabor.  March  !" 

Our  tents  were  pitched  on  the  public  square,  and  there 
the  boys  played  ball.  No  oath  escaped  their  lips.  No 
chicken  squawked  through  their  agency.  But  for  their 
raiment,  they  might  have  been  taken  for  a  convention  of 
Sunday  school  superintendents  and  teachers. 

It  was  then  at  Nebraska  City  that  the  challenge  to  A. 
W.  Doniphan  and  A.  G.  Boone,  but  really  intended  for 
Vice  President  David  R.  Atchison,  to  decide  by  wager 
of  battle  the  great  contest  of  Kansas — one  hundred  men 
on  each  side,  Lane  and  Atchison  respectively  to  be  one 
of  the  number — referred  to  by  Senator  Ingalls,  and  re- 
referred  to  by  Mr.  Noble  Prentis,  was  issued.  I  wrote  it 
myself.  Lane  invited  me  to  his  room,  laid  down  on  his 
bed,  pointed  to  a  chair  and  table,  and  said  :  "  Write  !" 
Perhaps  more  than  half  the  phraseology  was  mine  ;  but 
the  idea  was  all  Lane's.  I  thought  it  was  among  the 
lost  literature  of  Kansas  until  I  saw  it  referred  to  in  the 
Senator's  work.  The  proposition  was  as  he  stated  it. 


BIG    DUELS    AND    LITTLE    DUELS.  129 

They  were  to  fight  in  the  presence  of  twelve  members  of 
each  house  of  Congress.  Mr.  Prentis  said  nothing  came 
of  it.  He  is  mightily  mistaken.  If,  in  the  exuberance 
of  his  youth  and  patriotism,  he  had  been  there,  and  had 
not  been  one  of  Lane's  first  volunteers,  he  would  have 
been  astonished  at  the  number  of  young  men  who  felt 
differently.  I  saw  the  blood  in  the  eyes  of  the  boys. 
Lane  had  been  insulted  by  malicious  fellows  challenging 
him  ;  he  had  been  provoked  almost  beyond  endurance  ; 
but  he  told  me  in  seriousness  and  in  sadness,  he  could 
never  jeopardize  the  life  of  his  fellow  man,  except  in  some 
great  cause .  In  search  of  a  copy  of  this  peculiarly  unique 
challenge,  I  wrote  to  that  distinguished  collator  of  his- 
torical events,  Hon.  J.  Sterling  Morton,  United  States 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  who  is  also  President  of  the 
Nebraska  Historical  Society;  and,  while  he  was  unable 
to  furnish  me  the  particular  document  asked  for,  he  has 
furnished  me  more  important  information  in  the  follow- 
ing letter : 

UXITED  STATES  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICTLTI'RE, 
Office  of  the  Secretary,  Washington,  D.  C.,  Sept.  9,  1895.  ) 

Mr.  JOHN  SPEER,  Kansas  Historical  Society,  Topeka,  Kansas. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  hasten  to  reply  to  your  communication  of  September 
6,  and  to  inform  you  that  Mr.  James  H.  Lane  issued  no  challenge  to 
the  people  of  Nebraska  City  to  fight  a  duel — 100  Free-State  men  against 
100  Pro-Slavery  men,  and  that  such  a  challenge  would  have  been  ut- 
terly absurd,  for  the  reason  that  there  never  were  100  Pro-Slavery 
men  in  Otoe  county,  in  my  judgment,  from  the  date  of  its  organiza- 
tion down  to  the  present  time. 

Your  recollection  probably  grows  out  of  the  fact  that  two  aged  men 
— William  B.  Hale,  a  native  of  Virginia  and  a  slaveholder,  and  Capt. 


130  DUELING    CONTAGIOUS. 

John  Lorton,  a  native  of  Illinois  and  formerly  a  resident  of  Burling- 
ton, Iowa — challenged  Mr.  Jas.  H.  Lane  to  name  two,  or  ten,  of  his 
followers  who  would  meet  those  two  aged  citizens  alone,  or  those  two 
with  eight  men  whom  they  would  choose,  and  fight  a  duel  at  short 
range,  with  muskets,  rifles,  shot  guns  or  revolvers.  But  Gen.  Lane 
declared  that  he  and  his  people  were  merely  peaceful  emigrants  going 
to  the  Territory  of  Kansas  from  Northern  States,  with  the  intention 
of  quietly  and  without  force  making  it  a  Free  State. 

At  my  home  farm,  Arbor  Lodge,  adjoining  Nebraska  City,  I  have 
the  newspapers  of  that  period  bound,  and  when  I  visit  Nebraska  City, 
(as  I  shall  probably  in  the  month  of  October,  the  latter  part  thereof,) 
I  will  take  pains  to  hunt  up  the  matter,  and  see  how  near  my  recol- 
lection is  to  the  facts. 

Assuring  you  that  I  shall  be  pleased  to  contribute  the  matter  you 
seek,  if  I  can  find  it,  I  remain,  Very  respectfully  yours, 

J.  STERLING  MORTON. 

We  did  not  mean  to  say  that  Lane  had  challenged  the 
people  of  Nebraska  City,  for  the  very  reason  which  Mr. 
Morton  gives.  The  people  of  Nebraska,  like  the  people 
of  Kansas,  were  opposed  to  slavery. 

Why  these  two  gentlemen  wanted  to  kill  Lane  and 
eight  or  ten  more  is  not  apparent ;  but  Lane  went  them 
ninety  per  cent,  better,  and  challenges  stopped.  Times 
have  indeed  changed,  when  the  Governor  of  Texas  con- 
venes the  Legislature  to  prevent  a  fisticuff.  If  the  100 
men  to  each  side  had  appeared,  it  would  not  have  made 
any  difference  whether  a  quorum  of  the  Congressional 
committee  appeared  or  not.  That  challenge  answered  a 
purpose  similar  to  the  ' '  Topeka  movement ' ' — it  united 
the  men.  That  prize  fight — the  prize  of  Free  Kansas — 
was  fought  in  thousands  of  battles. 

A  few  days  after,  Lane  marched  with  his  command 


CHARLEY   GARRETT   AS   A   DONIPHAN   TIGER.          131 

toward  Kansas,  in  hopes  that  the  affair  at  Hickory  Point 
could  be  reconciled  with  Gov.  Geary.  At  the  end  of  the 
first  day's  march,  when  we  were  encamped  near  a  little 
town  called  Archer,  and  Lane  and  a  few  others  had  gone 
to  the  village  hotel  to  hear  the  news  and  talk  with  the 
people,  Dr.  Cutter*  appeared,  and  informed  us  of  the 
assault  of  Capt.  Harvey  on  Hickory  Point  and  the  cap- 
ture of  101  of  his  men,  taken  to  Lecompton,  to  be  tried 
for  murder.  Lane  at  once  called  out  his  men,  and  as 
they  stood  in  a  hollow  square,  stated  the  exact  situation, 
notifying  the  men  that  we  could  not  resist  the  United 
States  officers  and  soldiers,  nor  Gov.  Geary ;  and  advis- 
ing all  who  had  participated  in  the  action  at  Hickory 
Point  to  keep  away  from  Kansas,  as  he  should  do,  and 
did  for  some  time.  Nine  of  us  stepped  out,  saying  we 
should  go  to  Kansas,  one  of  them  Charles  F.  Garrett, 
afterward  distinguished  as  an  officer  in  the  service  of  his 
country,  though  he  had  been  in  the  fight.  Travelling 
twenty-four  hours  withouj;  a  morsel  of  food,  Garrett 
led  us  off  on  a  creek,  where,  when  he  was  going  north 
with  Lane,  he  had  represented  himself  to  a  Pro-Slavery 
settler  as  a  member  of  the  Doniphan  Tigers,  (a  Pro- 
Slavery  organization,)  and  was  told  exultantly  that,  with 
a  little  notice,  the  family  could  get  up  a  good  dinner  for 
fifty  of  the  Tigers  any  time.  "  We  will  see,"  said  Mr. 
Garrett,  "  what  they  can  do  for  a  breakfast,  this  morn- 


*This  Dr.  Cutter  had  before  captured  a  Santa  Fe  ox-wagon  train 
"belonging  to  Col.  Boone,  of  Westport,  Mo.,  who  was  rtpresented  to 
have  contributed  ten  thousand  dollars  to  the  Pro-Slavery  fund  in 
Kansas. 


132  COL.    TITUS    WITH    HIS    NICARAGUA    LETTER. 

ing,  for  nine  hungry  Free-State  men."  There  was  a 
good  deal  of  consternation,  when  the  old  Virginian  rec 
ognized  his  familiar  "Tiger"  at  the  head  of  nine  of 
Lane's  men,  armed  with  Sharp's  rifles  and  revolvers ; 
but  it  only  facilitated  the  preparation  of  breakfast,  and 
we  passed  on  in  peace.  This  was  near  Holton  ;  and  the 
next  night  we  spent  with  friends  at  Indianola,  four  miles 
north  of  Topeka,  and  early  the  next  day  we  were  at  our 
beloved  home  at  Lawrence. 

Our  illustration,  "  Inside  View  of  the  Lower  Prison 
Room  at  Lecompton,"  is  a  historic  picture  of  political 
persecution,  drawn  by  Mr.  William  Breyman,  one  of  the 
prisoners.  It  represents  Col.  Titus,  introducing  and 
reading  a  letter  on  Nicaragua,  and  trying  to  persuade 
the  prisoners  to  join  him  in  a  filibustering  expedition  to 
that  country.  While  it  gives  a  faithful  view  of  their 
prison  life,  it  more  vividly  illustrates  the  contrast  be- 
tween patriotism  and  tyranny.  There  stands  Col.  Titus, 
the  unscrupulous  adventurer^  the  propagandist  of  sla- 
very, doubtful  at  least  of  success  in  overthrowing  freedom 
in  Kansas,  ready  for  rapine  and  murder  in  any  other 
country,  as  he  was  in  Kansas.  Around  sit  men  in  want 
and  distress,  imprisoned  falsely  on  the  vilest  charges, 
despoiled  of  their  liberty  and  their  lives  endangered. 
Conscious  of  their  own  rectitude  of  purpose,  every  ap- 
peal to  them  is  resisted  with  disdain  and  contempt. 
Theirs  was  the  spirit  of  patriotism — the  love  of  country 
and  of  liberty. 

New  circumstances  arise  to  test  them.     Under  the  or- 


FREE-STATE    MEN   S    PRISON    LIF 


133 


X 


o 

H 

— 

t-H 
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b 


GQ 

O 


o 
o 


O 
O 


134  PRISONERS    FOR    PROTECTION. 

ders  of  the  War  department  of  their  country,  as  admin- 
istered by  Jefferson  Davis,  they  had  been  imprisoned  by 
Governor  Geary.  The  time  came  when  the  very  slave- 
power  which  oppressed  them  threatened  the  life  of  Geary 
himself,  and  he  was  compelled  to  notify  them  that  the 
crisis  was  approaching  when  he  should  arm  them  for  his 
personal  defense.  With  cheerfulness  and  alacrity,  they 
were  ready  for  the  conflict. 

These  men  were  charged  with  murder,  and  some  of 
them  convicted— defending  their  hearths,  their  homes 
and  their  firesides,  their  wives  and  their  children;  but, 
nevertheless,  murderers  !  Was  there  ever  a  parallel  to 
this  condition  of  a  ruler  in  a  civilized  government  com- 
pelled to  arm  his  convicts  for  his  personal  protection ! 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    FREE-STATE    TRIUMPH. 

Gen.  Lane  returned  to  Kansas  March  3,  1857,  having 
been  absent  from  the  October  preceding.     His  first  po- 
litical action  of  importance  was  as  president  of  the  Free- 
State  convention  at  Topeka,  June  12.     The  convention 
declared  that  they  would  not  submit  to  the  Territorial 
laws,  and  he  was  authorized  to  organize  the  Free-State 
men  into  military  companies.     Gov.   Geary  was  abso- 
lutely driven  from  the  Territory  for  fear  of  his  life  by  the 
Pro-Slavery  brigands,  and  departed  in  the  night.     His 
resignation  had  been  sent  in  several  days  before  it  was 
publicly  known.     Robert  J.  Walker,  of  Mississippi,  was 
appointed  Governor,  and  Frederick  P.  Stanton,  of  Ten- 
nessee,  Secretary  of  the   Territory.     Within  two  days 
after  his  arrival  in  the  Territory,  Mr.  Stanton  made  a 
speech  at  Lawrence,  in  which  he  declared  "war  to  the 
knife  and  the  knife  to  the  hilt,"  to  all  who  refused  to 
obey  the   "bogus  laws."     President  Buchanan  threat- 
ened the  people  with  Gen.  Harney,  the  well-known  In- 
dian fighter,  and   many  of   the  people   thought  it  was 
because  they  were  regarded  as  no  better  than  savages. 


136  LANE    TO    DEFEND    THE    ELECTIONS. 

At  another  Free-State  convention  at  Topeka,  July  15  and 
16,  he  again  presides,  and  refuses  a  nomination  for  Con- 
gress, but  with  the  voice  of  Stentor,  shouts  to  the  people 
present,  "  But,  at  the  proper  time,  I  may  whisper  to 
you,  that  I  want  to  go  to  the  United  States  Senate!" 
At  the  Grasshopper  Falls  convention  of  August  26,  he 
made  a  great  speech  in  favor  of  the  Free-State  party 
participating  in  the  election  of  October  5th  for  Territo- 
rial Delegate  to  Congress  and  members  of  the  Legisla- 
ture. ' '  We  have  them  in  our  power,"  said  he,  "both  at 
the  polls  and  with  arms.  Let  us  adopt  the  policy  of 
meeting  them  face  to  face,  under  their  infamous  '  laws,' 
as  a  man  in  prison  would  seek  liberty  through  a  sewer  ! 
As  Governor  Walker  and  Secretary  Stanton  have  tra- 
versed the  Territory  promising  to  secure  fairness  at  the 
polls,  let  us  hold  them  to  their  words."  The  convention 
passed  this  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  Gen.  J.  H.  Lane  be  authorized  and  empowerd  to 
tender  to  Gov.  Walker  the  force  organized  by  him  under  the  resolu- 
tion passed  by  the  convention  held  at  Topeka  on  the  loth  of  July  last, 
to  be  used  for  the  protection  of  the  ballot  box. 

At  the  United  States  land  sales  atOsawkee,  commenc- 
ing July  15, 1857,  the  Pro-Slavery  leaders  took  advantage 
of  the  situation  to  make  the  most  violent  speeches  in  de- 
nunciation of  the  "abolitionists;"  but  the  Free-State 
men  had  got  strong  enough  to  meet  them  anywhere,  and 
Lane  responded  with  his  usual  sarcasm,  in  repelling 
their  assaults,  and  in  exposure  of  their  outrages  upon 
the  rights  of  the  people  ol  Kansas.  That  occasion  was 
really  the  first  time  and  place  when  and  where  freedom 


STEP    OFF    TWENTY    PACES    FOR    FIGHT.  137 

of  debate  had  been  asserted  and  maintained.  While  he 
was  speaking,  one  day,  a  Pro-Slavery  man  called  him  a 
liar,  and  drew  a  revolver.  Lane  faced  him,  exclaiming, 
"Hold  the  assassin!  I  am  a  Kentuckian,*  and  recog- 
nize the  code.  Now  step  off  twenty  paces  and  give  me 
my  choice  of  weapons  !"  More  than  half  that  audience 
were  Pro-Slavery  men,  and  more  than  half  the  Pro-Sla- 
very men  were  Kentuckians.  A  shout  went  up  for  fair 
play,  and  the  dastard  slunk  away. 

When  the  Lecompton  constitutional  convention  met 
at  Lecompton,  the  Free-State  people  had  made  arrange- 
ments to  assemble  in  convention  at  the  central  head- 
quarters of  the  infamy,  and  protest  indignantly  against 
the  proposed  tyrannous  infliction  of  a  slavery  constitu- 
tion. Then  and  there  they  met  the  leaders  of  invasion. 
Five  or  six  hundred  assembled,  reaching  Lecompton  in 
almost  impassable  roads,  from  the  recent  rains  and  mud. 

Hon.  T.  Dwight  Thacher,  in  the  Lawrence  Republican 
of  October  22,  1857,  said  : 

It  was  a  timely  and  judicious  move,  that  Free-State  meeting  at  Le- 
compton last  Monday.  .  .  .  There  is  nothing  so  difficult 
for  a  scoundrel  to  do  as  to  meet  the  clear,  honest  gaze  of  the  man  he 
is  trying  to  wrong,  and  we  can  well  understand  why  Sheriff  Jones  and 
his  ilk  should  have  gnashed  their  teeth  in  impotent  rage  as  they  lis- 
tened to  the  burning  words  of  the  gallant  Lane.  .  .  .  But 
there  are  some  creatures  destitute  of  all  shame — reckless,  abandoned 


*  It  was  such  instances  as  this  that  left  some  people  in  doubt  whether 
he  was  born  in  Indiana  or  Kentucky.  "Chivalry"  was  in  higher  re- 
pute in  Kentucky  than  in  Indiana.  He  was  a  good-enough  Kentuck- 
ian for  that  emergency.  Mr.  Gorman,  the  Osawkee  landlord,  said 
that  "when  Old  Jim  was  first  discovered,  he  was  standing  astride  of 
the  Ohio  river,  claiming  both  states." 


138  JIM    THE    FIGHTER JIM    THE    ORATOR. 

villains;  and  of  such  is  this  convention.     Gen.  Lane's  speech  at  Le- 
compton  is  spoken  of,  on  all  hands,  as  one  of  the  noblest  of  his  life. 

It  must  be  remembered,  in  quoting  Mr.  Thacher,  that 
we  are  quoting  one  of  Gen.  Lane's  most  positive  oppo- 
nents ;  and  it  is  creditable  alike  to  the  editor  and  the 
orator  that  he  had  the  manliness  to  do  him  justice. 

The  correspondent  of  that  paper  thus  notices  it : 

No  report,  official  or  otherwise,  could  do  justice  to  the  efforts  of 
Gen.  Lane.  For  thrilling  pathos,  for  withering  invective,  for  crushing 
argument,  for  sublime  earnestness  of  purpose,  his  speech  of  yesterday 
stands  without  a  parallel  in  his  history.  Like  an  eagle,  he  rested 
upon  the  crest  of  the  difficult  mountain  paths ;  and  like  an  eagle,  he 
beat  down,  with  one  flap  of  his  wing,  the  carrion  crow  that  assaulted 
him.  Jim  Lane  the  fighter  is  enough  to  scatter  a  panic  through  a 
legion  of  ruffians,  but  Jim  Lane  the  orator  is  more  an  object  of 
dread  than  was  Cromwell  to  the  infamous  Long  Parliament. 

Sheriff  Jones,  Maclean,  and  a  few  others  of  the  same  stripe,  exerted 
their  utmost  to  create  confusion  and  a  fight ;  but  the  Free-State 
party,  true  to  the  noble  impulses  which  have  held  them  in  all  their 
struggle,  forgave  both  the  bullies  and  their  insults,  and  in  the  midst 
of  judgment,  remembered  mercy  ! 

If  ever  a  people,  crushed  beyond  precedent,  and  goaded  to  the  con- 
fines of  madness,  have  held  their  indignation  in  a  leash  stronger  than 
the  woof  of  destiny  itself,  it  is  the  Free-State  people  of  Kansas.  And 
we  rejoice  greatly  at  this.  The  greatness  and  the  glory  of  the  prin- 
ciples whose  disciples  they  have  been,  are  of  themselves  so  transcend- 
ent in  their  beauty  and  their  might,  that  the  forbearance  and  long 
suffering  of  those  who  have  endured  so  much  in  their  behalf  is  but 
another  and  more  conclusive  evidence  of  their  utter  excellence  and 
purity.  We  think  the  struggle  is  well-nigh  over  now.  Through  many 
days  of  anguish,  and  nights  of  weary  woe,  they  have  waited  and 
watched  by  the  tomb  where  their  buried  liberty  lay ;  and  now  it  is 
the  resurrection  time.  The  betraying  Judas  has  done  his  worst — the 
lips  of  Pilate  can  add  nothing  to  the  pronounced  doom — but  afar  off 


RESOLVES  IN  THE  FACE  OF  A  BATTERY.      139 

we  can  hear  the  rushing  of  the  angel's  wings  as  he  comes  to  roll  away 

•  " 
the  stone  from  the  sepulchre. 

In  this  epoch,  events  rush  upon  us  so  that  brevity  fails 
in  description.  The  reports  are  meagre  ;  but  the  char- 
acter of  the  committee  on  resolutions  could  not  fail  to 
bring  out  ringing  denunciations  of  the  tyranny  and  de- 
fiance to  the  tyrants.  To  those  who  know  the  commit- 
tee, they  could  almost  imagine  what  their  utterances 
would  be.  William  Hutchinson,  E.B.  Whitman,  G.  F. 
Warren,  G.  W.  Deitzler,  J.  B.  Abbott,  0.  E.  Learnard 
and  J.  P.  Root,  could  "  uttertno  uncertain  sound." 

We  give  only  one  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  we  utterly  and  forever  protest  against  the  assem- 
bling of  any  body  "of  men  at  Lecompton,  on  this  day,  or  hereafter, 
claiming  the  right  to  act  as  our  agents  in  making  a  constitution  for 
our  common  observance  ;  that  we  delegate  to  no  finite  power  the  re- 
sponsibility of  representatives,  unless  the  people  are  first  the  free 
instruments  of  their  election  ;  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  "  the  whole 
people"  to  fervently  repudiate  and  spurn  any  attempt  to  force  upon 
them  so  contemptible  an  imposition  as  the  professed  work  of  that 
misnamed  convention,  and  to  set  at  naught  whatever  may  emanate 
from  them. 

Lane  did  his  full  duty  in  the  canvass,  day  in  and  day 
out,  till  victory  was  won  at  the  polls.  The  preparation  for 
battle  warned  the  people  across  the  line  that  danger  was 
in  the  wind,  and  Lane  in  the  field.  The  enemy  adopted 
a  new  plan.  They  forged  enough  of  election  returns  in 
two  districts  to  carry  the  election  of  members  of  the  Leg- 
islature— 900  votes  at  Kickapoo,  in  the  Leavenworth 
district,  1632  at  Oxford,  in  the  Douglas  and  Johnson 
county  district,  the  whole  vote  at  Lightning  creek,  where 


SHOUTING  DEFIANCE  INTO  THE  CONVENTION'S  EARS  AND 
THE  BATTERY'S  MUZZLES. 


BARELY    ESCAPE    THE    HANGMEN.  141 

there  was  no  polling  place,  because  it  was  an  Indian  res- 
ervation, and  had  no  voters  ;  and  they  disfranchised  all 
the  people  in  eighteen  counties,  by  failing  to  report  the 
census,  and  leaving   them   out   of  the   apportionment, 
thereby  depriving  them  of  three  or  four  representatives. 
When  such  returns  were  ascertained  to  have  been  sent 
in  to  the  Governor  and  Secretary,  who  constituted  the 
returning  board,  an  aroused  public  sentiment  prepared 
for  battle.     The  number  of  members  returned  as  elected 
were  twenty  Pro-Slavery  members  out  of  thirty-seven  in 
the  House,  and  eight  in  the  Council  out  of  thirteen.     Of 
course  contest  was  impossible  of  success.     To  accomplish 
this  result  in    the    Douglas    and  Johnson  district,  the 
judges  of  election  at  the  Oxford  district,  on  the  Missouri 
line,  a  precinct  that  had  not  fifty  male  inhabitants  of 
voting  age,  crossed  the  line  into  Missouri,  and  made  up  a 
poll  list  of  1632  votes,  counting  about  a  dozen  ' '  aboli- 
tion "  votes  to  make  the  fraud  look  as  if  such  votes  had 
actually  been  cast,  where  it  would  have  been  all  a  Free- 
State  man's  life  was  worth  to  have  looked  on.     The  no- 
torious Sheriff  Jones  was  at  that  election.     Walker  and 
Stanton,  the  Governor  and  Secretary,  were  openly  and 
boldly  notified  that  the  perpetrators  and  their  aiders  and 
abettors  would  be  hung  if  the  certificates  were  issued ; 
and  a  hanging  committee  got  into  the  neighborhood  of 
Oxford  just  a  little  too  late  to  catch  the  judges  of  elec- 
tion.    Investigation  developed  the  fact  that  the  names 
upon  the  Oxford  list  had  been  copied  bodily  from  an  old 
Cincinnati  directory ;  and  this  discovery  was  made  by 


142  DEMANDING    AN    EXTRA    SESSION. 

the  singular  fact,  that  they  had  inserted  the  name  of 
that  great  patriot,  who  had  been  United  States  Senator, 
was  Governor  of  Ohio,  and  became  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  and  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  SALMON 
P.  CHASE.  The  ignoramuses  did  not  know  Salmon  P. 
Chase  from  John  Doe  or  Richard  Roe  !* 

Under  the  terrible  indignation  of  the  people,  Walker 
and  Stanton  threw  out  the  returns  at  Oxford  as  ' '  simu- 
lated and  fictitious,"  and  issued  the  certificates  to  the 
Free-State  men.  And  thus  the  triumph  of  Freedom  was 
assured. 

But  the  Lecompton  constitution  forever  establishing 
slavery  was  upon  us  ;  and  Lane  started  in  a  new  role  of 
demanding  a  call  by  the  Governor  for  an  extra  session 
of  the  Territorial  Legislature,  to  secure  a  fair  vote  on  the 
Lecompton  constitution.  It  was  then  that,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Senator  Ingalls,  so  often  reiterated,  "the  elec- 
tric shock  of  his  extraordinary  eloquence  thrilled  like  a 
trumpet,"  and  he  "swayed  the  people  like  a  field  of 
reeds  shaken  in  the  wind" — but  let  no  man  accuse  me 
of  garbling  by  leaving  out  the  beautiful  symbol  of  the 
' '  rasping  gutturals  of  a  Dutch  butcher  in  the  last  gasp 
of  inebriation. "  It  was  then,  too,  to  quote  the  same  elo- 
quent author,  that  "  his  energy  was  tireless,  and  his  ac- 
tivity indefatigable.  No  night  was  too  dark,  no  heat  or 
cold  too  excessive,  no  distance  too  great  to  delay  his  me- 


*This  poll  list  was  fifty-two  feet  in  length,  in  a  good  clerical  hand, 
the  manuscript  scarcely  soiled — the  clearest  fraud  transparent  in  the 
impossibility  of  its  having  passed  the  ordeal  of  1632  whisky-drinking, 
tobacco-chewing  Missourians. 


COURIERS    ANNOUNCE    HIS    APPROACH.  143 

teoric  pilgrimages,  with  dilapidated  garb  and  equipage, 
across  the  trackless  prairies  from  convention  to  conven- 
tion." His  theme  was  the  Lecompton  constitution  ;  and 
his  demand  was  that  the  Governor  must — yes,  MUST  and 
SHALL  were  the  words — sail  the  newly-elected  Territorial 
Legislature  of  Free-State  men,  in  extra  session,  to  pro- 
vide for  an  honest  vote  on  that  charter  of  iniquity  and 
tyranny,  the  Lecompton  constitution.  Everywhere  were 
seen  the  old  moccasin-colored  horse  and  his  rider  with  the 
slouch  hat,  seal-skin  coat  and  calf-skin  vest,  in  his  Paul 
Revere  ride,  announcing  that  nothing  short  of  that  ac- 
tion would  save  Kansas  from  the  curse  of  slavery.  He 
never  held  less  than  three  meetings  a  day.  Couriers 
were  sent  ahead  of  him  from  one  meeting  to  another. 
The  people  seemed  to  rise  up  as  if  by  instinct.  On  one 
day  he  rode  ten  miles  to  speak  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  thirty  more  to  speak  at  3  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  still  twenty  more  to  speak  at  7  o'clock  at 
night.*  His  utterances  may  have  been  wild,  but  nobody 
denied  that  they  were  convincing. 

All  this  time  the  members  of  the  legislature  were  as- 
sembling at  Lawrence.     They  met  to  deliberate  ;  but  it 

*Col.  M.  M.  Murdock,  of  the  Wichita  Eagle,  is  wont  to  tell  of  a 
similar  exploit,  in  which  he  accompanied  Lane  from  Burlingame. 
"  He  made  a  talk  to  quite  a  crowd  at  Council  Grove  after  breakfast ; 
between  10  and  11  A.  M.,  he  spoke  at  Wilmington,  AVabaunsee  county  ; 
driving  to  Burlingame,  he  took  dinner,  where  he  delivered  another 
speech  of  an  hour's  duration  in  Judge  Schuyler's  old  mill;  between 
4  and  5  o'clock,  he  made  another  speech  at  Auburn,  Shawnee  county ; 
after  supper,  he  made  his  fifth  speech  for  the  day,  in  the  old  repre- 
sentative hall  at  Topeka.  At  about  1  o'clock  that  night,  getting  fresh 
horses,  he  left  for  Lawrence,  arriving  at  his  home  just  after  daylight, 
where  Speer  and  Shimmons  were  waiting  to  hold  a  caucus — a  tour  of 
over  90  miles." 


144  AN    EXTRA    SESSION    PROMISED. 

was  as  rapid  deliberation  as  ever  was  known  in  a  delib- 
erative body.  They  prepared  a  draft  of  a  petition,  and 
all  signed  it,  appealing  to  the  Governor,  in  the  name  of 
justice,  to  allow  the  people  to  say  whether  or  not  they 
were  in  favor  of  slavery. 

At  this  juncture,  Col.  Shaler  W.  Eldridge  appeared 
upon  the  scene,  and  declared  that  he  would  go  to  Le- 
compton  and  present  the  question  to  Mr.  Stanton,  the 
Secretary,  ex-officio  Governor — Governor  Walker  having 
fled  the  Territory.  He  went ;  and,  begging  the  Gov- 
ernor and  his  advisers  to  ask  him  no  questions  as  to  how 
he  knew,  but  assuring  them  that  he  DID  know,  that  the 
people  had  resolved  that  patience  had  ceased  to  be  a  vir- 
tue, and  that  an  organization  had  been  effected  compared 
with  whose  operations  the  worst  days  of  California  vigi- 
lance committees  would  be  mild  amusement ;  and  that, 
unless  that  legislature  was  called,  men  would  be  hanging 
upon  trees.*  He  returned  with  the  Governor's  promise 
to  call  the  legislature,  and  at  once,  at  his  request,  this 
writer  went  to  Leaven  worth  to  advise  Lane.  I  arrived  a 
little  after  noon,  and  was  told  that  Lane  was  at  Stock- 
ton's Hall.  I  found  it  a  big  room,  full  of  men,  all  stand- 
ing, and  greatly  excited.  Dr.  Davis,  a  conservative 
Free-State  man,  suspected  of  Pro- Slavery  symptoms, 
was  denouncing  Lane's  actions  as  tending  to  a  disturb- 
ance of  the  peace,  endangering  the  lives  and  property  of 

*  It  was  supposed  by  some  that  these  intimidations  induced  Gov. 
Denver,  at  the  regular  session  following,  to  recommend,  in  his  mes- 
sage, an  investigation  as  to  whether  an  organization  similar  to  the 
Danites  among  the  Mormons  existed  in  Kansas. 


AN    EXTRA    SESSION    CALLED.  145 

the  people.  As  he  concluded,  Lane  slowly  ascended  the 
rostrum,  which  was  a  store-box,  as  I  pushed  through  the 
crowd,  and  had  but  opened  in  his  reply,  when  I  took  him 
by  the  elbow,  and,  as  he  stooped  down,  told  him  that 
Stanton  HAD  called  the  Legislature.  It  was  then  that 
Pro-Slavery  piety  was  shocked,  as  the  "  intermittent 
form  of  Lane's  religion  "  gave  way  ;  and  he  exclaimed  : 
"  Great  God  !  I  am  amazed  at  the  cowardice  around  me  ; 
but  I  have  the  honor  to  announce  to  the  weak-kneed, 
timid  Free-State  men,  trembling  in  fear  of  their  lives  and 
property,  and  to  the  hell-hounds  of  slavery,  chuckling 
over  their  timidity,  that  STANTON  HAS  CALLED  THE  LEG- 
ISLATURE !  and  there  is  no  devil  too  vigilant,  and  no  hell 
too  hot  for  the  tyrants  and  oppressors  of  Kansas  !" 

The  sentiment  was  too  deep  for  cheering,  and  the  au- 
dience quietly  dispersed,  the  Pro-Slavery  men  crest- 
fallen and  the  Free-State  men  in  doubt,  as  if  the  news 
were  too  good  to  be  true. 

The  next  night  a  little  after  dark,  I  reached  Lawrence, 
and  rushing  into  the  Lawrence  Republican  office  for  the 
news,  I  found  Mr.  EDWARD  P.  HARRIS  (so  long  since 
eminent  as  a  printer  in  the  State  Printing  department) 
setting  up  the  following 

PROCLAMATION. 

To  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  TERRITORY 
OF  KANSAS: 

An  extraordinary  occasion  having  occurred  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Territory,  within  the  meaning  of  the  thirtieth  section  of  the  Organic 
Act,  which  authorizes  the  Legislature  to  be  called  together  on  such 
occasions : 


146  BUT    HERE    COMES    THE    ENGLISH    BILL. 

I,  FRED.  P.  STANTON,  Secretary  and  Acting  Governor,  do  hereby 
summon  the  members  of  the  Council  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  said  Territory,  to  assemble  in  their  respective  houses,  at  Le- 
compton,  on  Monday  next,  the  7th  inst.,  then  and  there  to  consider 
matters  of  great  moment,  pertaining  to  the  public  welfare. 

Given  under  the  seal  of  the  Territory,  at  Lecompton,  this  the  first 
day  of  December,  A.  D.  1857.  FRED.  P.  STANTOX. 

The  legislature  met,  first  informally  at  Lawrence,  and 
arranged  for  their  appearance  at  the  capital.  Lane  or- 
ganized 900  men,  ( Wilder 's  Annals  says  1,200,  but  no 
count  was  made,)  and  escorted  the  legislature  in  triumph 
to  Lecompton.  The  cavalcade,  except  the  cavalry,  were 
in  every  conceivable  manufacture  of  vehicle.  The  vote 
was  ordered  and  the  constitution  defeated.  The  death- 
knell  of  slavery  was  rung. 

The  men  that  were  "going  to  kill  Lane  and  his  aboli- 
tionists at  sight,' '  "  hunted  their  holes."  The  triumphal 
march  to  Lecompton  was  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the 
Kansas  struggle  never  to  be  forgotten.  An  immense 
meeting  again  assembled  in  front  of  the  same  building  at 
the  steps  of  which  Lane  had  before  denounced  the  con- 
vention, now  used  as  Representative  Hall,  where  he  and 
others  again  addressed  the  people. 

Our  illustration  represents  the  cavalcade  passing  the 
pioneer  home  of  Col.  William  Nace,  on  the  heights  ap- 
proaching Lecompton,  all  the  multitude,  from  the  east, 
the  south  and  west  having  concentrated  just  south  of 
that  point.  (See  page  165.) 

But  there  was  a  resurrection.  The  English  bill  in 
Congress  re-submitted  that  constitution  to  vote,  with  the 


LANE    ELECTED    MAJOR-GENERAL.  147 

largest  bribe  of  land  ever  proposed  since  that  offer  was 
made  "on  an  exceeding  high  mountain"  of  all  the 
kingdoms  of  the  earth — a  bribe  in  one  hand  and  a  threat 
in  the  other — admission  and  slavery  with  a  bribe ,  but  no 
admission  without  slavery.  The  overwhelming  defeat 
of  the  Lecompton  iniquity,  under  the  English  bill,  is  too 
well  known  to  need  reiteration.  And  afterward,  Kansas 
was  practically  free,  though  the  contest  was  not  over, 
either  in  Kansas  or  in  Congress. 

The  Legislature  ousted  all  the  Leavenworth  delegation 
on  the  Kickapoo  fraud.  They  passed  a  bill  for  a  fail- 
vote  on  the  Lecompton  constitution,  an  act  for  organiz- 
ing the  militia,  and  elected  Gen.  Lane  Major-General, 
with  a  full  military  board,  and  enacted  other  laws  for 
the  protection  of  the  ballot-box,  doing  nothing  contrary 
to  the  pledge  signed  before  the  call  was  issued  for  an 
extra  session. 

The  vote  on  the  Lecompton  constitution,  as  submitted 
by  act  of  the  extra  session,  January  4,  1858,  stood  as 
follows :  Against  the  constitution,  10,226 ;  for  the  con- 
stitution with  slavery,  138  ;  for  the  constitution  without 
slavery,  23.  On  the  same  day,  the  vote  was  taken  for 
officers  of  state,  for  congress  and  the  legislature,  and  the 
highest  vote  was  on  congress  :  Parrott,  Free-State,  7,620  ; 
Carr,  Pro-Slavery,  6,574;  3,000  of  those  cast  for  Carr 
being  fraudulent  votes  at  Oxford,  Shawnee  and  Kicka- 
poo. An  act  was  passed  by  the  extra  sessien  to  take  a 
census  of  the  voting  population  of  Oxford  and  Kickapoo, 
and  by  that  census,  Oxford  had  but  42  male  inhabitants 


148  SLAVERY    INCIDENTS. 

of  voting  age ;  but  I  can  find  no  separate  census  of 
Kickapoo. 

In  tliis  chapter  on  the  dying  throes  of  slavery  is  per- 
haps as  good  a  time  as  I  could  find  to  get  in  some  inci- 
dents and  anecdotes  of  "  the  institution." 

The  records  of  Douglass  county  show  an  order  in  the 
probate  court  relating  to  slaves. 

George  W.  Clarke,  the  murderer  of  Barber,  published 
a  card  for  his  "  negro  woman,  Judy,"  who  he  said,  "is 
no  doubt  lurking  in  or  about  Lawrence,  if  she  has  not 
already  secured  a  passage  on  the  underground  railroad 
to  Chicago."  Judge  Elmore  of  the  United  States  court 
brought  eleven  slaves  to  Shawnee  and  Douglas  counties. 
In  many  trips  from  Lawrence  to  Topeka  in  the  winter 
of  1855-6,  I  saw  one  of  his  slaves  at  the  hotel  at  Big 
Springs,  hired  out  to  the  landlord,  and  I  sat  by  the  fire, 
while  that  slave  mother,  her  infant  creeping  at  her  feet, 
cooked  my  meals. 

Judy,  advertised  for  by  Clarke,  made  good  record  for 
humanity.  She  went  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Alphonso  Jones 
one  night,  and  rapped  at  his  window,  and  as  he  looked 
out,  in  a  hoarse  whisper,  said  :  "  Massa  Jones  !  Massa 
Jones!  min'  what  I  tell  you;  dey're  going  to  kill  you 
to-morrow  night,  as  you  comes  home  from  dat  abolition 
meetin'.  Now  min'  wat  I  say — Ize  gone!"  Thus 
warned,  Mr.  Jones  remained  in  Lawrence  that  night. 
Clarke  had  Jones'  house  searched  afterward  for  her,  but 
never  found  her.  Clarke  fired  at  him  once,  and  shot  a 
hole  through  his  hat,  and  at  a  Lawrence  meeting,  as- 


A    BEWILDERED    PREACHER.  149 

saulted  him  on  the  speakers'  stand.  But  Clarke  was  a 
favorite  of  the  Pro-Slavery  leaders. 

Secretary  Stanton,  who  lived  in  a  mansion  he  built 
in  the  same  neighborhood,  brought  three  slaves  with 
him.  The  Secretary  was  by  nature  a  kind-hearted  man, 
with  an  admirable  family.  Mrs.  Stanton  kept  a  gover- 
ness to  teach  her  children  ;  and  as  there  were  no  schools 
elsewhere,  invited  three  of  the  little  Jones  children  and 
others  to  her  house,  and  they  were  taught  by  that  ac- 
complished governess. 

Mr.  John  H .  Shimmons  was  another  man  who  lived  in 
that  neighborhood,  and  had  several  seances  with  Clarke, 
and  they  "  discussed  the  questions  at  issue  "  one  night 
with  Sharp's  rifles.  There  were  Pro-Slavery  preachers 
in  those  days ;  and  it  is  related  of  Shimmons,  that,  one 
night,  just  at  dark — very  dark  at  that — he  met  a  min- 
ister of  that  cast  of  mind  in  quest  of  Lecompton,  who 
remarked  that  he  did  not  know  where  to  go  because  there 
were  so  many  abolitionists  around  there  ;  and  inquired 
if  he  could  tell  him  the  way.  Shimmons  blurted  out : 
"  Yes ;  but  you  can't  find  your  way  there,  through  the 
brush,  this  dark  night,  any  more  than  you  can  get  to 
heaven  by  the  Pro-Slavery  route.  I  am  one  of  those 
'infernal  abolitionists;'  but  if  you  want  to  stay  with 
me,  you  are  welcome."  In  fear  and  trembling  the 
preacher  accepted  the  invitation.  All  the  family  made 
the  visit  agreeable,  and  to  those  who  knew  Mrs.  Shim- 
mons, it  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  that  preacher  never 
got  better  meals  than  he  found  at  that  "abolition'' 


150  THE    MELTING    AWAY    OF    SLAVERY. 

cabin.  The  pleased  preacher  proposed  "a  season  of 
family  prayer,"  and,  with  an  expression  of  doubt  as  to 
whether  a  Pro-Slavery  prayer  would  do  him  any  good, 
Shimmons  assented,  the  preacher  prayed  and  departed 
in  peace. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Bourne,  on  Washington  creek, 
had  about  a  dozen  ;  and  among  them  was  one  Tom,  in 
whom  he  confided  as  an  overseer.  Bourne  himself  be- 
gan to  oversee  the  destiny  of  slavery ,  and  called  up  Tom 
to  consult  him  about  "going  back  to  old  Virginia." 
Bourne  had  said  he  came  to  Kansas  to  establish  slavery  ; 
Tom  took  him  at  his  teachings,  and  replied :  "  No,  no, 
Massa  Bourne.  I  came  to  Kansas  to  '  'stablish  de  insti- 
tution,' and  I'm  goin'  to  see  it  froo."  It  was  not  two 
weeks  till  Tom  had  "  seen  it  froo,"  and  he  and  most  of 
the  other  slaves  had  gone. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Skaggs  made  a  big  hole  in  the 
dense  woods  opposite  Lecompton  with  slave  labor ;  but 
when  war  was  made  on  the  "abolitionists,"  he  fled  to 
Texas  before  ''the  handwriting  upon  the  wall,"  with  all 
his  slaves.  Just  after  the  war,  I  was  passing  over  a  fine 
farm  on  the  Verdigris  bottoms,  when  a  robust  colored 
man  came  out  of  one  of  two  substantial  log  houses,  and 
to  my  inquiry  if  he  owned  that  farm,  he  replied  that  he 
did,  and  came  from  Texas,  and  said:  "You  are  Mr. 
Speer?"  "  How  did  you  know  me?"  "I  lived  up  the 
Kaw  bottoms  from  Lawrence,  and  have  been  at  that 
Yankee  town  many  a  time.  I  was  Mr.  Skaggs'  slave.' 
"  Where  is  Mr.  Skaggs?"  "  He  is  is  a  poor  man  now 


THE  SHRIEK  OP  THE  CRUSADER.          151 

He  lives  in  the  other  house,  and  I  rent  out  the  half  of 
the  farm  to  him  on  the  shares." 

When  Lane  shrieked  it  across  the  valleys  and  prairies 
of  Kansas,  "  Henceforth  and  forever,  I  am  a  Crusader  of 
Freedom!"  the  fiery  ordeal  was  on  us,  and  he  never 
halted  till  the  last  vestige  of  the  accursed  institution  had 
not  only  been  swept  from  Kansas,  but  blotted  out  for- 
ever from  the  national  statutes. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

"A    TURBULENT    AND    DANGEROUS    MILITARY    LEADER." 

When  Congress  met,  on  the  first  Monday  in  December, 
1857,  President  Buchanan  earnestly  recommended  the 
admission  of  Kansas  under  the  Lecompton  constitution, 
anxious  to  avert  the  etfect  of  any  action  of  the  newly- 
elected  Territorial  Legislature,  now  in  the  hands  of  the 
Free-State  men.  There  were  no  telegraphs  to  Kansas  in 
those  days,  and  for  our  purposes  just  then,  we  did  not 
need  any  ;  for  the  President  could  not  learn  that  a  rest- 
less spirit  "with  dilapidated  garb  and  equipage,"  was 
roaming  "  across  the  trackless  prairies  from  convention 
to  convention,"  in  an  earnest  endeavor  to  circumvent 
the  machinations  of  the  chief  executive  and  other  Pro- 
Slavery  leaders  for  the  overthrow  of  freedom  in  Kansas. 
They  did  know  who  to  look  out  for  as  well  as  the  British 
knew  that  ' '  Mr.  Washington  sat  upon  a  strapping  stal- 
lion." Congress  met  but  three  days  after  the  Kansas 
special  session  had  been  called. 

On  the  re-assembling  of  Congress  after  the  hollidays, 
the  President  sent  in  a  special  message,  accompanying 


LANE'S  REPLY  TO  THE  PRESIDENT.  153 

the  Lecompton  Constitution,  in  which  he  denounced  the 
people  of  Kansas  as  a  lawless  people,  "in  rebellion 
against  the  government,  with  a  military  leader  at  their 
head  of  most  turbulent  and  dangerous  character." 

We  give  the  full  speech  of  Gen.  Lane,  in  reply  to  this 
accusation : 

FELLOW-CITIZEXS  :  With  your  permission,  I  will  occupy  a  few  mo- 
ments of  your  valuable  time  in  noticing  a  special  message  of  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  transmitting  the  Lecompton  Constitution 
to  the  Senate. 

No  one  regrets  the  necessity  for  such  a  notice  more  than  myself ; 
but  an  official  paper  emanating  from  the  representative  of  the  gov- 
ernment is  presumed  to  be  correct,  at  least  in  its  recitation  of  facts. 
But  whether  proceeding  from  ignorance  or  malice,  I  venture  the 
assertion  that  the  message  stands  without  a  parallel  in  its  falsification 
of  history.  [Applause.  A  voice:  That's  so.] 

I  hope  to  demonstrate  that  it  contains  an  unmanly  assault  upon  a 
patriotic,  patient  and  peace-loving  people.  It  is  known  to  you,  and  it 
is  a  matter  of  history,  that  there  never  has  been  in  Kansas  any  or- 
ganization, public  or  secret,  armed  or  unarmed,  against  the  General 
Government,  or  the  Territorial  Government. 

At  the  great  Delegate  Convention  held  at  Big  Springs,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1855,  it  was  unanimously  resolved,  after  full  discussion  and  de- 
liberation, NOT  to  organize  in  resistance  to  that  code,  but  to  leave 
each  member  of  the  Free-State  party  free  to  act  independently  in 
that  regard.     Never  has  there  been  a  moment  in  our  history  when 
writs  could  not  be  freely  served  in  Lawrence  or  elsewhere  in  the  Tei 
ritory.     Towards  that  Missouri  code  we  adopted  the  LET  ALOXE  pohcy; 
neither  resorting  to  nor  resisting  it ;  and  it  fell  of  its  own  weight  be 
neath  the  contempt  of  an  indignant  people.     [Applause.] 

While  the  Territorial  officers  appointed  by  the  Federal  Government 
have  been  regarded  and  watched  as  enemies,  yet  their  authority  has 
always  been  acknowledged  and  their  positions  respected.  Knowing, 
as  we  long  have,  that  a  collision  between  the  people  of  Kansas  and  tho 


154  ONLY   AKMED    FOR   DEFENSE. 

Federal  authorities  was  sought  for  by  our  enemies,  both  here  and  in 
the  General  Government,  we  have  borne  and  forborne  as  Americans 
were  called  on  to  do  before  us. 

When  our  Territory  was  occupied  by  four  distinct  armies  from  for- 
eign states,  laying  waste  the  country  and  avowing  to  exterminate  the 
people  of  Kansas,  before  resisting  them  we  called  upon  the  Territo- 
rial authorities  and  the  commandant  of  the  United  States  troops  for 
protection.  Not  until  that  protection  was  refused,  did  we  attack  the 
marauders.  NEVER  HAVE  THE  PEOPLE  OF  KANSAS  BEEN  IN  ARMS  EXCEPT 

TO  RESIST  INVASION  FROM  OTHER  STATES. 

Before  the  convention  at  Big  Springs,  a  meeting  had  been  called  at 
Lawrence,  to  organize  the  Democratic  party  in  the  Territory.  In 
that  meeting,  the  plan  was  brought  forward  to  organize  a  State  gov- 
ernment under  the  Enabling  clause,  not  doubted  at  that  time  to  be 
emphatically  enunciated  in  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill. 

At  Big  Springs  this  plan  was  embraced  as  the  peacefully  legal  one, 
in  preference  to  organized  resistance  to  the  Territorial  laws,  to  save 
the  effusion  of  blood,  and  AVOID  those  laws,  instead  of  coming  in  con- 
flict with  them.  The  delegates  were  fairly  elected  by  the  settlers  of 
Kansas.  A  constitution  was  formed,  republican  in  its  form — sub- 
mitted as  an  entirety  to  a  fair  and  full  vote  of  the  whole  people,  and 
ratified  by  them ;  State  officers  and  members  of  the  Legislature,  a 
Representative  to  Congress,  and  two  United  States  Senators,  were 
elected,  and  the  constitution  forwarded  to  Congress,  with  an  humble 
prayer  for  our  admission  under  it  as  one  of  the  sovereign  States  of 
the  Union. 

Had  that  prayer  been  granted,  hundreds  of  lives  and  millions  of 
property  would  have  been  saved  to  the  people  of  Kansas.  Since  that 
time  we  have  been  struggling  for  admission,  that  peace  might  be 
restored  and  perpetuated,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  majority  vin- 
dicated. 

When  we  were  weak,  and  Missouri  strong,  our  enemies  obtained 
possession  of  the  Territorial  government.  Although  we  believed  that 
precedent  and  law  would  justify  us  in  putting  the  Topeka  govern- 
ment in  motion,  and  that  when  put  in  motion,  it  legally  superseded 
the  Territorial  government,  yet  at  all  times  have  we  been  anxious  to 


ORGANIZED    ONLY   TO    PROTECT   THE    BALLOT.          155 

seize  the  Territorial  government.  The  first  opportunity  which  oc- 
curred, we  DID  embrace,  and  took  possession  of  it. 

It  is  known  to  you  that,  had  there  been  a  CHANCE  of  success,  under 
the  fraudulent  registry  made  by  our  enemies,  we  would  have  contested 
the  election  of  delegates  to  the  Lecompton  convention.  Your  speaker 
returned  to  Kansas  in  disguise,  at  the  imminent  peril  of  his  life,  for 
the  express  purpose  of  using  his  humble  efforts  to  induce  the  people 
to  go  into  that  election. 

The  Topeka  Legislature  is  now  in  session  passing  a  code  of  laws, 
with  the  distinct  understanding  that  that  code  is  not  to  go  into  effect 
until  we  are  admitted  into  the  Union,  or  until  war  is  declared  against 
us  by  the  reception  of  the  Lecompton  Constitution. 

There  never  has  been  a  fair  election  under  the  Territorial  authority. 
Our  border  was  invaded  at  every  election  by  organized  bands  from 
Missouri — strangers  to  our  soil — our  ballot-boxes  seized,  and  our  set- 
tlers driven  therefrom  by  force.  The  Territorial  militia  officers  were 
our  enemies. 

In  view  of  this,  at  the  convention  when  we  decided  to  go  into  the 
October  election,  it  was  determined  that  I  should  be  authorized  to 
organize  the  people  for  the  protection  of  the  ballot-box.  That  organ- 
ization was  had.  Although  we  could  not  prevent  the  MANUFACTURE  of 
fictitious  returns,  we  DID  keep  back  the  armed  hordes,  and  secured 
the  Territorial  Legislature  to  the  people. 

The  right  to  defend  one's  self  is  held  to  be  inalienable.  The  Amer- 
ican right  of  suffrage  is  believed  to  be  equally  sacred.  The  organiza- 
tion had  no  other  object  than  that  indicated  ;  and  immediately  after 
the  election,  the  position  was  surrendered  into  the  hands  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  only  design  in  enrolling  the  names  of  those  who  refused  to 
join  the  organization  was  to  secure  a  full  census  of  the  voters,  to 
serve  as  a  corrective  of  the  returns,  for  the  detection  of  frauds. 

The  Lawrence  charter  association  was  a  mere  squatters'  movement. 

It  was  news  to  our  people  to  learn  from  Gov.  Walker  that  it  was  the 

• 

commencement  of  a  great  system,  In  that  matter  he  deserved  and 
received  the  ridicule  of  all  sensible  men,  and  no  man  was  more  cha- 
grined than  himself  at  the  mistake  he  had  made. 

As  I  have  shown,  and  as  is  known  to  you,  the  people  of  Kansas  could 


156          BACKED  BY  FEDERAL  BAYONETS. 

not  participate  in  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  Lecompton  conven- 
tion with  the  slightest  hopes  of  success.  The  registry  was  named  by 
our  enemies  to  defraud  us.  The  election  officers  were  villains  of  the 
deepest  dye.  The  people  remained  at  home  necessarily,  and  with  but 
few  exceptions,  the  vilest  men  were  elected  delegates  to  frame  a  con- 
stitution. They  met,  and  by  the  aid  of  Federal  bayonets  consummated 
their  villainy  ;  and  I  assert  here,  that  but  for  those  Federal  bayonets, 
that  crime  would  have  been  prevented  by  an  outraged  people  in  a 
summary  manner. 

In  consonance  with  their  program,  a  trick  of  submission  was  in- 
vented to  impose  upon  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  With  the 
government  under  that  constitution  in  the  hands  of  our  enemies,  we 
know  that  Kansas  would  be  as  fully  a  slave  state  without  the  slavery 
clause  as  with  it.  The  submission  of  the  slavery  question  was  of  itself 
a  mere  mockery.  Leaving  out  of  the  question  altogether  the  prin- 
ciple, as  asserted  by  our  fathers,  that  representation  and  the  exercise 
of  power  are  inseparable — the  fact  that  the  constitution  was  framed 
by  the  enemies  of  the  people,  protected  by  Federal  bayonets,  and  not 
submitted,  is  deemed  sufficient  to  justify  American  freemen  in  resort- 
ing to  extreme  measures  to  prevent  its  being  enforced  as  their  organic 
law.  Should  Congress  receive  it  under  the  circumstances,  it  would 
be  in  all  respects  the  infliction  of  a  constitution  by  the  central  gov- 
ernment upon  the  people  of  the  state  contrary  to  their  wishes,  and  in 
violation  of  their  plainest  rights.  The  spectacle  of  the  central  gov- 
ernment forcing  an  unwilling  people  into  the  Union  would  be  some- 
what anomalous. 

Fearing  the  action  of  a  partisan  Congress,  elected  with  deep 
prejudices  against  us,  under  protest,  and  with  no  other  object  than 
to  induce  that  Congress  to'reject  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  a  por- 
tion of  our  people,  on  the  4th  of  January,  participated  in  the  election 
of  state  officers  and  members  of  the  legislature  under  it.  By  decisive 
majorities,  we  elected  enemies  to  that  constitution.  Frauds  which 
would  drive  any  other  people  than  those  of  Kansas  into  bloodshed  and 
civil  war,  were  perpetrated  to  crush  us.  By  years  of  suffering  and 
oppression  we  are  driven  to  the  wall.  Should  Congress,  by  the  influ- 
ence of  a  corrupt  and  tyrannical  Executive,  receive  that  constitution, 


THE    PROPOSED    LEAVEN  WORTH    CONSTITUTION.        157 

and  attempt,  by  Federal  authority,  to  enforce  it  upon  us,  we  are  de- 
termined ;  and  nothing  is  left  for  us  but  the  alternative  of  manly 
resistance. 

If  we  bravely  fall  in  such  a  struggle,  we  will  at  least  have  main- 
tained our  reputation  as  freemen  worthy  of  our  ancestry.     If  we 
succeed,  it  will  be  a  lesson  to  the  central  government  that  Americans 
"  Know  their  rights,  and  knowing  dare  maintain." 

For  three  years  we  have  spit  upon  the  Missouri  code ;  and  all  the 
powers  of  Missouri  and  the  General  Government  could  not  enforce  its 
provisions  against  OCR  CONTEMPT!  Our  own  Territorial  government 
has  now  repealed  the  obnoxious  features  of  the  code.  Should  Con- 
gress receive  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  they  restore  to  life  that 
repealed  code.  If  in  three  years  the  central  government  could  not 
enforce  it  before  its  repeal,  how  many  years  will  it  require  to  en- 
force it  afterwards?  [Laughter.] 

The  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  secures  to  the  foreigner  who  has  declared 
his  intentions,  the  right  to  vote.  The  Missouri  code  takes  that  right 
from  him,  and  confers  it  upon  the  Indian.  We  have  vindicated  the 
right  of  the  foreigner  under  the  Nebraska  bill  by  the  repeal  of  the  law. 
Should  Congress  receive  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  this  law  is  again 
revived,  and  he  who  votes  for  the  reception  endorses  the  doctrine. 

As  a  speedy  and  peaceable  mode  of  settling  our  difficulties,  the 
people  framed  and  ratified  the  Topeka  Constitution.  By  a  decisive 
majority,  that  constitution  was  received  by  the  popular  branch  of 
Congress.  Since  that  time  we  have  had  a  lively  hope  that  the  Senate 
would  ratify  the  action  of  the  House.  To  remove  all  pretext,  and  as 
a  sacrifice  to  the  unfounded  prejudices  in  the  minds  of  the  opponents 
to  that  constitution,  the  first  Territorial  Legislature  under  the  control 
of  the  people  has  passed  a  bill  calling  a  convention  to  frame  another 
constitution.  The  law  is  fair  to  all,  and  provides  for  submitting  the 
constitution  to  be  framed  to  a  fair  and  full  vote. 

The  movement  is  tendered  in  a  Christian  and  patriotic  spirit,  as  a 
compromise,  for  a  speedy  and  just  settlement  of  the  Kansas  question. 
Why  should  not  Congress  and  all  parties  receive  it  as  such  ?  Before 
the  Lecompton  constitution  can  possibly  pass,  this  Constitution  will 


158  THE   CHARGE   OP    "TURBULENCE." 

be  before  that  body.  By  endorsing  it  at  once  as  their  action,  thus  rec- 
ognizing the  right  of  the  people  to  fix  details  in  the  settlement  of  their 
own  affairs,  peace  is  permanently  secured,  and  the  rights  of  the  ma- 
jority vindicated.  On  the  contrary,  should  Congress  persist  in  forcing 
upon  us  a  constitution,  war,  devastating  war,  must  follow.  It  may  be 
extended  all  along  the  line  to  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  the  President 
may  be  compelled  to  look  upon  the  fragments  of  a  broken  government. 
God  grant  that  justice  may  prevail, and  such  a  scene  never  be  presented. 

The  people  of  Kansas  are  qualified  to  manage  their  own  affairs. 
They  have  sternly  opposed  Missouri  intervention,  and  would  have 
opposed  intervention  from  Northern  states  or  aid  societies  as  firmly. 

They  have  originated  their  own  policy — engineered  their  own  cause 
— they  have  ever  been  loyal  to  the  government  and  true  to  the  Union, 
and  he  who  charges  otherwise  wrongs  them  and  falsifies  their  history. 

To  the  charge  made  by  the  President  against  me  personally,  I  have 
this  to  say :  That  the  allegation  comes  with  a  bad  grace  from  him  or 
his  party.  I  could  not  have  been  a  "  turbulent "  character  when  that 
party  endorsed  me,  by  thrusting  upon  me,  by  unprecedented  majori- 
ties, three  of  the  most  important  positions  in  the  state  of  Indiana — all 
of  which  I  held  at  one  time — those  of  Lieutenant-Governor,  Elector- 
at-Large,  and  member  of  Congress.  That  character  could  not  have 
been  won  by  me  while  leading  the  troops  under  Federal  authority  in 
the  Democratic  Mexican  war,  when  I  stood  upon  the  field  where 
Pierce  faintingly  reclined.  [Laughter.] 

It  was  not  "  turbulence  "  to  my  then  party  that  induced  me  to  vote 
for  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  in  obedience  to  the  instructions  of  my 
constituents — obtained,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  through  fraud  and 
misrepresentation,  by  the  vile  creature,  John  L.  Robinson,  in  obedi- 
ence to  his  Bright*  friend.  Are  my  earnest  and  energetic  efforts, 
upon  my  arrival  in  the  Territory,  to  build  up  the  Democratic  party  in 
Kansas,  to  be  used  as  a  foundation  for  the  charge  of  "  turbulence  "  by 
the  head  of  that  party  ?  t 

•Senator  Bright,  of  Indiana,  afterward  expelled  as  a  rebel. 

t  The  Border-Ruffian  legislature  passed  a  resolution  that  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Democratic  party  was  "  a  measure  now  on  foot  fraught 
with  more  danger  to  the  Pro-Slavery  party"  "than  any  which  has 
yet  been  agitated." — WILDER'S  ANNALS,  page  71. 


LET   BUCHANAN    HOWL   AND   CONGRESS   ENACT.        159 

Is  the  fact  that  the  Topeka  movement  was  first  brought  forward  in 
a  Democratic  convention,  to  be  used  against  me  ?  Is  my  anxiety  to 
participate  in  every  election  that  has  occurred  in  Kansas  since  I 
reached  her  border,  to  prejudice  me  ? 

Having  on  all  occasions  insisted  upon  the  sacred  observance  of  the 
right  of  property  without  reference  to  political  opinions — having 
treated  all  prisoners  kindly  and  courteously,  I  am  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  "  head  and  front  of  my  offending"  MUST  be  found  in 
the  fact  that  I  have  sternly  and  fearlessly  vindicated  the  right  of  the 
people  of  Kansas  to  frame  their  own  laws  and  mould  their  own  insti- 
utions  "  in  their  own  way." 

The  message  of  James  Buchanan  evidences  that  he  is  on  the  same 
downward  road  that  his  predecessors  and  the  Governors  of  Kansas 
have  so  successfully  travelled,  [laughter,]  that  of  acting  in  our  affairs 
upon  the  representations  of  the  Pro-Slavery  fillibusters  of  Kansas  and 
Missouri.  The  politician  who  does  it  "  has  already  fallen." 

Let  Buchanan  howl  and  Congress  enact.  Kansas  is  free ;  and  all 
the  powers  of  the  earth  cannot  enslave  her !  To-day  the  people  of 
Kansas  are  a  unit.  So  long  as  that  unity  is  preserved,  nothing  can 
prevail  against  her. 

For  cool,  calm,  discreet  reply,  in  a  trying  crisis,  this 
speech  has  few  parallels .  The  dividing  line  between  re- 
sistance to  Federal  and  "bogus"  authorities,  to  many 
minds,  was  a  very  narrow  one  ;  it  was  the  Scylla  and 
Charybdis  of  political  action,  with  monsters  ready  to 
devour  on  all  sides  ;  but  he  defines  it  well.  He  is  diplo- 
matic— Talleyrand  never  was  more  so  ;  but  he  is  diplo- 
matically correct.  He  "  spits  upon  the  Missouri  code," 
and  very  narrowly  misses  the  whole  administration.  It 
is  the  Patrick  Henry  admonition,  less  blunt  and  more 
polite,  if  not  more  emphatic,  substantially  saying,  "  We 
have  driven  'three  distinct  armies  out  of  Kansas,'  the 
Missourians,  Georgians  and  South  Carolinians,  'spit 


160        AS  MUCH  A  SLAVE  STATE  AS  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

upon  their  laws '  and  defied  them ;  we  have  politically 
decapitated  five  Governors,  and  sent  them  to  perdition ; 
and  James  Buchanan  may  profit  by  their  example.  If 
that  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it." 

The  Lecompton  Constitution  was  the  culmination  of 
the  last  desperate  effort  to  overthrow  the  freedom  of 
American  citizenship  and  establish  slavery  in  Kansas. 
In  this  message  the  President  says :  "It  has  been  sol- 
emnly adjudged  by  the  highest  judicial  tribunal  that 
slavery  exists  in  Kansas  by  virtue  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  Kansas  is,  therefore,  at  this  moment 
as  much  a  slave  State  as  Georgia  or  South  Carolina." 

That  was  the  dogma  of  all  the  propagandists,  which, 
after  great  struggles,  they  had  practically  sustained  by 
the  Dred  Scott  decision. 

Lane,  with  many  others,  had  previously  been  indicted 
by  the  Territorial  grand  jury  of  the  United  States  court 
for  Kansas,  but  no  man  dared  to  attempt  his  arrest,  and 
he  defied  all  the  authorities. 

In  this  message,  after  stating  that  he  has  received  a 
copy  of  the  Lecompton  Constitution  from  John  C.  Cal- 

houn,  which  he  transmits  to  Congress,  the  President 
says : 

Ever  since  that  period,  [his  inauguration,]  a  large  portion  of  the 
people  of  Kansas  have  been  in  REBELLION  AGAINST  THE  GOV- 
ERNMENT, WITH  A  MILITARY  LEADER  AT  THEIR  HEAD 
OF  MOST  TURBULENT  AND  DANGEROUS  CHARACTER. 

Nearly  three  columns  are  occupied  in  denunciation 
of  Lane  and  his  "  followers  "  for  their  disregard  for  the 
enactments  of  a  legislature  fraudulently  forced  upon  the 


JEFF    DAVIS    KNEW    WHO    WAS    LEADING.  161 

people.     But  the  convention  that  framed  the  Lecompton 
constitution  was  still  worse.     A   few  Pro^Slavery  men 
were  elected  to  the  first  legislature ;  but  not  one  man 
of  that  Pro-Slavery  convention  could  have  been  elected 
upon  the  slavery  issue  without  the  intervention  of  the 
United  States  army ;  and  under  the  conduct  of  Presi- 
dent Buchanan's  administration,  not  more  than  three  or 
four  of  them  could  have  been  elected  as  plain  Democrats  > 
gnoring  the  slavery  issue. 

Neither  President  Pierce,  nor  his  War  Secretary,  Jef- 
ferson Davis,  both  of  whom  were  with  Lane  in  the  Mex- 
ican War,  nor  President  Buchanan,  whose  imbecility 
permitted  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  made  any  mistake 
as  to  who  led  the  forces  of  Freedom  in  both  those  disas- 
trous, diabolical  administrations. 

But  Lane  never  faltered.  We  must  recollect  that,  at 
that  time,  in  the  dead  of  winter,  we  were  two  hundred 
miles  from  railroad  communication,  dependent  upon  the 
stage  coach  for  transportation  of  the  mails.  As  soon  as 
the  intelligence  reached  him  he  took  the  stump  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  position  the  of  President,  rallying  the  people 
— inspiring  them  with  his  own  ardor  and  energy. 

He  stood  the  central  figure  of  the  President's  fulmina- 
tions  of  death  and  destruction.  The  administration  had 
brought  all  its  powers  of  influence  against  him.  It  had 
bribed  the  press — had  hurled  from  power  and  place 
every  man  who  dared  to  whisper  his  sympathy  for  us  in 
our  oppressions.  The  timid  conservative  stood  in  fear; 
the  tyrant,  the  brigand  and  the  assassin  were  on  the 


162  NO  PARALLEL  IN  TYRANNY. 

alert ;  a  bogus  indictment  for  treason  stared  him  in 
the  face.  It  was  the  only  time  in  the  history  of  America 
when  a  President  had  made  a  public  man,  asserting  the 
rights  of  a  people,  the  subject  of  a  special  message  with 
threats  of  the  use  of  the  American  army  to  back  him  in 
his  tyranny.  Under  any  other  influence  than  the  oli- 
garchy of  slavery,  a  President  thus  guilty  would  have 
been  impeached,  and  hurled  from  power  as  a  tyrant. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
GOV.  DENVER'S  ASSAULT  UPON  LANE  AND  HIS  STAFF. 

Gov.  Walker  having  fled  the  Territory  in  fear,  and 
appeared  at  Washington,  shortly  after  his  action  on  the 
Territorial  election  of  1857,  which  gave  the  Free-State 
party  power,  the  Territorial  Secretary  became  ex-officio 
Governor ;  but  the  calling  of  an  extra  session  of  that 
legislature  to  provide  for  a  fair  vote  on  the  Lecompton 
Constitution  was  an  act  so  obnoxious  to  Buchanan's 
administration  that  he  was  removed,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  Hon.  John  W.  Denver  as  Secretary  sent  to  the 
Senate.  After  an  acrimonious  debate,  his  appointment 
was  confirmed  December  10,  1857,  three  days  after  the 
meeting  of  the  extra  session  of  the  Territorial  Legisla- 
ture ;  but  he  did  not  assume  his  duties  till  after  the 
adjournment  of  that  session. 

By  act  of  that  session,  James  H.  Lane  was  made  Ma- 
jor-General of  the  Territorial  military  forces,  and  soon 
after  went  to  the  relief  of  the  people  near  Fort  Scott. 

In  his  first  message  to  the  regular  session  of  the  Terri- 
torial Legislature,  Gov.  Denver  calls  the  attention  of 
that  body  to  the  outbreak  in  the  fallowing  language  : 


164  QOV.  DENVER'S  FIRST  TILT  AT  LANE. 

Having  but  recently  arrived  among  you,  it  could  hardly  be  expected 
that  I  should  have  that  exact  information  in  relation  to  the  internal 
affairs  of  the  Territory  that  a  longer  residence  would  have  afforded  ; 
but  I  have  seen  enough  to  satisfy  me  that  much  of  the  animosity  and 
bitter  feeling  now  existing  proceeds  more  from  personal  hostility 
than  from  political  considerations.  These  had  their  origin  in  the 
troubles  growing  out  of  the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  and  the 
vindictive  feelings  then  engendered  among  the  prominent  actors 
have,  in  many  instances,  sunk  into  personal  hatred.  Thus,  you.  find 
the  most  bitter  feuds  existing  all  over  the  country,  which,  when 
traced  back,  are  found  to  have  originated  in  some  personal  quarrel. 

The  southern  part  of  the  Territory  was  lately  convulsed  about  a 
claim  to  a  quarter-section  of  land.  One  man,  with  his  friends,  forci- 
bly removed  another  from  a  claim,  and,  for  so  doing,  they  were 
arrested,  under  a  writ  issued  by  the  United  States  Judges,  and  held 
to  bail  for  their  appearance  at  the  next  term  of  the  court,  to  answer 
the  charges  made  against  them.  A  cry  of  "  persecution  "  was  imme- 
diately raised,  and  this  petty  difficulty  was  soon  elevated  to  the  dig- 
nity of  "a  war  between  the  Free-State  and  Pro-Slavery  parties,"  and, 
at  one  time,  threatened  to  draw  the  whole  Territory  into  the  quarrel. 
The  difficulty  was  not  at  fiust  a  political  one,  but  it  was  seized  upon 
as  a  pretext  for  their  acts,  by  those  lawless  and  restless  men  who  are 
never  satisfied  except  when  engaged  in  some  broil  or  exciting  trouble. 
Such  acts  are  demoralizing  in  their  effects  upon  the  public  mind,  and 
it  behooves  every  good  citizen  to  discountenance  them,  and  assist  in 
bringing  the  actors  to  punishment.  To  quell  these  disturbances,  I 
have  deemed  it  necessary  to  send  a  detachment  of  United  States 
troops  into  the  neighborhood,  which  has  had  the  effect  to  restore 
peace  to  the  community.  The  rumors  of  battles  and  killing  various 
persons,  with  which  the  country  was  rife  at  the  time,  have  proved  to 
be  untrue,  the  marauders  having  confined  their  operations  to  the 
indiscriminate  plunder  of  friends  and  foes. 

The  Governor  had  so  "  recently  arrived,"  that  he  was 
doubtless  not  informed  by  his  Pro-Slavery  advisers  that 
all  this  trouble  originated  in  the  fact  that  the  murderer 


TRIUMPHAL    MARCH    OF    FREEDOM 


165 


GEN.  LANE  ESCORTING  THE  LEGISLATURE  TO  LECOMPTON. 

(  SEE  PAGE  146. ) 


166  G.    W.    CLARKE    CAUSES    "A   CONVULSION." 

of  Thomas  W.  Barber  was  the  primitive  cause  of  all 
that  difficulty.  It  is  unnecessary  to  state  that  the  mur- 
der of  Barber  was  one  of  the  barbarities  of  slavery  which 
had  no  ameliorating  circumstances  in  it.  The  whole 
matter  has  been  investigated,  and  the  public  mind  uni- 
versally satisfied  as  to  who  perpetrated  the  murder. 

I  personally  participated  in  a  melee  where  Clarke  at- 
tempted the  murder  of  Dr.  (since  Governor)  Charles 
Robinson,  at  a  very  early  period  in  our  history.  It  was 
at  a  meeting  at  Lawrence,  to  consider  some  squatters' 
rights  in  regard  to  town  property,  held  on  January  11, 
1855.  I  had  never  attended  a  meeting  so  boisterous  as 
this  one.  There  were  five  hundred  persons  present,  all 
armed.  Mr.  Alphonso  Jones  (heretofore  referred  to) 
had  attempted  to  speak  against  Clarke  on  a  claim  ques- 
tion. The  stand  was  a  store  box,  and  Clarke  "  went  for 
him"  behind  his  back,  sending  him  at  least  a  rod  over 
the  heads  of  the  crowd  around  the  stand.  Some  of  the 
crowd  yelled,  "  Now  go  for  them,"  and  Clarke  drew  his 
revolver  on  Robinson/  As  he  did  so,  I  jumped  for  him, 
caught  his  weapon,  and  turned  its  muzzle  as  directly  as 
possible  upon  his  heart,  determined,  if  he  pulled  a  trig- 
ger, he  should  take  the  contents.  As  we  struggled  for  the 
gun,  a  Kentucky  Pro-Slavery  man,  as  determined  as  I 
was  to  prevent  bloodshed,  came  to  my  assistance,  and 
quiet  was  restored.  If  Clarke  had  murdered  Robinson, 
the  "convulsion"  would  have  started  right  there.  It 
seems  strange  to  the  civilization  of  the  present  day,  with 
what  pertinacity  the  government  protected  that  man, 


OFFICIAL    DIGNITY    COMPARED.  167 

and  promoted  him  in  office.  He  had  shot  at  not  less 
than  four  men,  besides  the  man  he  murdered  and  the 
one  he  attempted  to  murder  at  Lawrence.  Mr.  James 
L.  Wallace,  a  North  Carolinian,  had  only  arrived  in  his 
neighborhood,  when  Clarke  sent  him  a  government  mus- 
ket "  to  shoot  Yankees,"  which  he  refused. 

For  a  clear  understanding,  and  a  comparison  between 
the  official  courtesy  of  Gen.  Lane  and  Gov.  Denver,  we 
quote  the  Major-General's  report : 

HEADQUARTERS  KANSAS  MILITIA,  ( 
LAWRENCE,  Jan.  15,  1858. 

To  His  EXCELLENCY,  THE  ACTING  GOVERNOR  OK  KANSAS  TERRITORY, 
THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  COUNCIL,  AND  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OK 
REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY: 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  the  discharge  of  duty,  I  submit  the  following  re- 
port on  a  subject  which  has  excited  much  interest  and  comment.  At 
the  time  of  my  election  by  your  honorable  body,  as  Major-General  of 
the  militia,  news  was  rife,  as  you  will  remember,  of  a  disturbance  in 
Bourbon  county. 

Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  your  special  session,  I  re- 
paired to  the  scene  of  action,  sending  Generals  Phillips  and  Plumb  in 
advance,  to  inform  the  people  that  a  force  of  U.  S.  troops  were  mov- 
ing in  that  direction.  Accompanied  by  Generals  Stratton,  Whitman, 
Shore  and  Leonhardt,  I  arrived  at  Sugar  Mound,  where  the  people 
were  encamped,  under  the  command  of  Col.  J.  B.  Abbott,  shortly 
after  the  messenger.  On  inquiry,  I  ascertained  that  the  people  had 
been  compelled  to  take  up  arms  for  these  causes  and  reasons : 

Two  years  ago,  a  man  named  G.  W.  Clarke,  notorious  for  his  con- 
nection with  the  murder  of  the  lamented  Barber,  organized  a  band  of 
marauders  in  Missouri,  who  invaded  that  district  of  the  Territory, 
laying  waste  the  country,  driving  off  the  Free-State  settlers,  plun- 
dering and  insulting  them  and  their  families,  and  then  taking  pos- 
session of  their  claims  and  stock,  which  they  were  compelled  to  leave. 
During  the  present  summer  and  autumn,  a  number  of  the  settlers 


168    PROTECTING  SETTLERS  IN  BOURBON  COUNTY. 

thus  expelled  from  that  district,  returned,  and  endeavored,  by  peace- 
able means,  to  recover  their  rights  and  property.  They  were  met  by 
writs  obtained  from  unscrupulous  and  unjust  officers,  many  of  them 
arrested  on  pretended  charges,  for  offenses  which  were  never  com- 
mitted, and  imprisoned  in  Fort  Scott,  in  cells  unfit  even  for  felons  to 
inhabit ;  in  several  cases  their  property  was  sold  at  nominal  prices, 
and  driven  out  of  the  Territory,  to  defray  expenses  not  yet  accrued, 
and  other  outrages  perpetrated  similar  to  those  which  drove  the  peo- 
ple to  arms  in  former  periods  of  our  history.  During  the  perpetration 
of  these  outrages,  Col.  Abbott,  Dr.  Gilpatrick  and  Rev.  J.  E.  Stewart, 
who  had  been  ordered  there,  arrived  and  proceeded  to  establish  a 
Squatters'  court,  for  the  redress  of  grievances  and  the  restoration  of 
peace.  About  the  time  they  closed  their  sittings,  having  decided  all 
the  cases  on  the  Little  Osage,  they  were  assaulted  by  an  armed  mob, 
five  times  their  number,  pretending  to  act  under  the  authority  of  a 
U.  S.  Marshal.  The  assault  was  successfully  worsted  [resisted] — sev- 
eral assailants  killed  and  wounded,  and  the  remainder  driven  back 
to  their  dens  in  Missouri.  It  was  immediately  after  this  conflict 
that  I  arrived  at  Sugar  Mound,  proceeded  at  once  to  enroll  the  people 
under  your  act  of  Dec.  17th ;  sent  out  scouting  parties  in  all  direc- 
tions, informing  the  people  that  we  were  to  protect  all  actual  settlers, 
without  reference  to  their  political  opinions.  We  were  kindly  re- 
ceived by  all,  and  our  authority  cheerfully  recognized. 

On  the  evening  the  companies  were  to  be  disbanded,  our  scouts 
brought  news  that  a  company  of  U.  S.  troops  were  moving  upon  us 
with  the  avowed  intention  of.  attacking  us.  We  immediately  took 
position,  intending,  if  possible,  with  honor,  to  avoid  a  conflict,  but 
prepared  to  meet  it  successfully,  if  forced  upon  us.  We  remained  in 
this  position,  thus  taken,  until  we  ascertained  that  the  U.  S.  troops 
had  marched  to  Fort  Scott,  and  had  received  written  assurances  from 
Judge  Williams  that  the  Free-State  prisoners  would  be  protected  and 
treated  kindly.  Peace  being  restored,  we  disbanded  the  command, 
retaining  two  companies  in  the  field,  some  thirty  men,  with  orders  to 
protect  the  inhabitants. 

On  my  return  to  Lawrence,  a  writ  from  Judge  Miller,  Probate 
Judge  of  this  county,  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Captain  Miller,"of 


DISCRETION    THE    BETTER   PART    OP    VALOR.  169 

my  command,  for  the  arrest  of  the  judges  and  clerks  of  the  election 
in  Johnson  county,  who  had  participated  in  the  frauds  committed  at 
the  election  held  on  the  21st  of  December.  As  the  prompt  service  of 
the  writ  was  deemed  important,  I  thought  incumbent  to  go  in  person 
with  the  command.  The  duty  was  discharged  and  the  command 
disbanded. 

These  expeditions  have  been  attended  with  some  expense,  a  full 
and  concise  account  of  which  has  been  kept,  and  will  be  transmitted, 
with  vouchers  to  you,  from  the  Quartermaster's  and  Commissary's 
departments. 

As  the  object  of  the  organization,  provided  for  in  the  law  of  Decem- 
ber 17th,  was  the  protection  of  the  people  of  Kansas,  and  as  the  action 
had  was  indispensible  in  that  direction,  it  is  hoped  it  will  meet  your 
hearty  approval.  Respectfully,  J.  H.  LANE,  Maj.  General. 

This  was  the  first  military  organization  by  the  Terri- 
tory under  Free-State  party  legislative  domination  ;  and, 
therefore,  the  first  action  of  that  party  under  the  forms 
of  law.  This  action  was  taken  under  a  law  passed  at 
an  extra  session  of  the  legislature  December  17,  1857; 
but  the  Pro-Slavery  party  pronounced  that  act  contrary 
to  the  act  of  Congress  organizing  Kansas  Territory, 
though  it  is  an  absolute  and  indisputable  fact  that  no 
judicial  decision  was  ever  handed  down  on  that  ques- 
tion. It  is  a  noticeable  fact,  however,  that  when  Lane 
wheeled  for  action,  the  United  States  troops  did  not  come 
on.  They  were  not  afraid  ;  but  "discretion  is  the  better 
part  of  valor ;"  and  the  officers  were  going  to  take  no 
chances  on  the  unconstitutionality  of  a  law,  because  a 
Governor  so  decided  it.  The  military  and  the  civil  au- 
thorities are  each,  in  their  sphere,  subject  to  law;  and 
both  the  army  officers  and  Lane  knew  that  well  enough 
to  avoid  bloodshed.  The  writs  of  Judge  Williams  were 


170         THE  MATERIAL  FOR  GREAT  MEN. 

probably  not  worth  the  paper  they  were  written  on. 
Under  the  pre-emption  law,  (and  we  had  no  other  law 
then  under  which  land  could  be  acquired,)  the  General 
Land  Office  had  exclusive  jurisdiction.  This  was  a  nar- 
row escape  of  conflict  between  the  people  and  the  mili- 
tary authority  of  the  United  States ;  but  it  was  the  first 
appearance  of  such  resistance,  and  was  of  an  anomalous 
character  in  the  fact  that  the  Governor  was  assuming  to 
put  down  a  disturbance  contrary  to  the  express  enact- 
ments of  law.  He  became  a  usurper,  attempting  to  ex- 
ercise both  judicial  and  military  control . 

Look  at  the  future  of  these  men,  (Lane  and  his  staff,) 
whom  Denver  denounced  as  "lawless  and  restless,  never 
satisfied  except  when  engaged  in  some  broil  or  exciting 
trouble,"  whom  he  wanted  to  slay  with  United  States 
soldiers  :  Two  of  them — Lane  and  Plumb — in  the  United 
States  Senate  ;  one  of  them — Phillips— distinguished  in 
the  war  and  in  Congress  ;  three  of  them — Abbott,  Shore 
and  Stratton — elected  to  the  Kansas  Legislature  ;  two  of 
them — Leonhardt  and  Whitman — captains  in  the  Union 
army;  Leouhardt,  a  Pole,  brave  as  a  lion,  and  Whit- 
man, who  built  the  first  church  in  Lawrence,  entered  the 
army,  promoted  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  for  meritorious 
services,  retained  in  the  army  after  the  war,  and  was 
distinguished  as  among  the  originators  of  the  National 
Cemetery  system,  erecting  monuments  to  the  patriotism 
and  heroism  of  his  comrades — a  work  which  has  made 
his  name  monumental  alike  as  a  philanthropist  and  a 
patriot ;  one — Dr.  R.  Gilpatrick — nominated  for  a  Lin- 


THE    TABLES    TURNED.  171 

coin  Presidential  Elector  in  1860,  when  we  expected  ad- 
mission to  the  Union,  a  Surgeon  in  the  Union  army, 
murdered  while  dressing  the  wounds  of  a  rebel  soldier. 

Where   are   their   assailants?     Their   leader,    G.  W. 
Clarke,  went  whither  no  one  knoweth,  "  a  fugitive  and 
a  vagabond  on  the  earth,"  and  his  followers,  with  few 
exceptions,  victims  of  Gen.  Ewing's  Order  No.  11, 
Their  names  unknown,  unhonored  and  unsung. 

In  the  meantime,  Gov.  Denver  had  issued  a  manifesto 
against  Lane,  derogatory  to  all  his  acts,  stigmatizing  him 
as  "one  J.  H.  Lane,"  who  was  assuming  power  without 
the  authority  of  law.  The  tables  had  turned,  however, 
and  the  Territorial  Legislature  had  given  to  him  the  pro- 
tection of  the  forms  of  law,  and  Denver  became  the 
usurper  in  rebellion  against  the  laws.  It  mattered  not 
whether  the  law  was  constitutional  or  unconstitutional, 
so  far  as  his  action  was  concerned.  He  was  the  execu- 
tive, but  he  was  not  the  interpreter  of  the  constitution  or 
the  organic  act,  (the  two  having  similar  relations,)  and 
his  recourse  was  to  the  courts,  not  to  violence  through 
his  power  by  means  of  the  army.  Law  was  on  the  side  of 
right,  and  legislative  domination  with  the  people. 

To  this  assault,  Lane  replied  as  follows  : 

A    CARD. 

LAWRENCE,  March  16,  1858. 

Since  my  return  from  a  Northern  tour,  my  attention  has  been  called 
to  a  Gubernatorial  pronunciamento,  (said  by  the  boys  to  be  4,060,) 
dated  "  Lecompton,  February  6th,"  and  signed  by  one  "  J.  W.  Den- 
ver, Acting  Governor." 

By  President  Pierce  and  his  myrmidons,  I  was  denounced  as  a  traitor 


172  AN    INSOLENT    PRONUNCIAMENTO. 

and  indicted  for  high  treason.  They  did  not  dare  to  test  the  truth  of 
the  charge  by  an  arrest  or  a  trial,  and  finally  admitted  my  innocence 
and  their  idiocy  by  quashing  the  indictment. 

By  Mr.  Buchanan  I  have  been  charged  as  a  rebel,  and  "  a  military 
leader  of  most  turbulent  and  dangerous  character."  That  charge  also 
has  been  answered. 

One  J.  W.  Denver  now  steps  forward  and  charges  me  with  making 
"insidious  attempts  to  renew  the  difficulties  and  troubles,"  and  with 
an  intention  or  design  of  establishing  a  military  dictatorship.  By 
reference  to  the  regulations  and  commissions  of  which  he  speaks,  it 
will  be  found  that  "one  J.  H.  Lane"  signed  them  by  order  of  the 
Military  Board,  and  as  President  thereof.  A  full  vindication  of  the 
action  of  that  Board  will  b%  found  in  its  report  of  this  date,  to  which 
I  respectfully  refer  the  people  of  Kansas. 

As  to  the  charge  of  "  turbulence,"  I  refer  to  the  people  of  Doniphan, 
Geary  City,  Wathena,  Elwood,  White  Cloud,  and  St.  Joseph  and  Ore- 
gon, Mo.,  who  have  listened  to  my  speeches,  delivered  within  the 
past  three  weeks,  in  all  of  which  I  urged  the  cultivation  of  fraternal 
relations  and  brotherly  intercourse.  It  is  deemed  a  sufficient  answer 
to  the  charge  that  I  desire  to  establish  a  military  dictatorship,  that 
upon  four  different  occasions  I  have  been  invested  with  the  chief  com- 
mand of  the  military  forces  of  the  people  of  Kansas,  and  that  imme- 
diately after  the  emergency  ceased  which  called  them  into  the  field, 
that  command  was  voluntarily  surrendered  into  their  hands. 

The  command  I  now  hold  was  conferred  upon  me  by  the  Territorial 
Legislature,  without  solicitation  on  my  part,  by  a  unanimous  vote  of 
both  branches.  The  Legislature  has  reserved  the  power  to  remove 
me  at  any  time.  The  moment  that  the  dark  clouds  which  now  ob- 
scure our  horizon  disappear,  that  moment  will  my  command  be  sur- 
rendered to  the  people. 

The  acts  complained  of  in  this  insolent  pronunciamento  were  of  an 
official  character,  so  signed  and  published.  Its  author  has  chosen  to 
make  a  personal  matter  out  of  these  official  acts.  With  him  rests  the 
responsibility  thereof. 

I  am  willing  to  submit  my  acts,  past  and  future,  to  the  judgment 
of  the  people,  confident  as  I  am  that  they  will  never  accuse  me,  as 


COFFEE   AND    PISTOLS   FOR   TWO.  173 

they  do  justly  charge  one  J.  "NV.  Denver,  with  having,  in  violation  of 
an  official  oath  and  public  duty,  endeavored  to  throw  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  laws  deemed  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  the 
citizens  of  Kansas ;  and  that  they  will  never  say  of  me,  as  they  do 
truthfully  say  of  one  J.  VV.  Denver,  that,  by  a  miserable  pretext,  dis- 
creditable to  any  man — the  excuse  of  a  sluggard,  and  the  crime  of  a 
soldier,  to  wit:  that  he  slept  when  on  duty,  he  is  endeavoring  to  pre- 
vent the  settlement  of  the  Kansas  imbroglio  by  defeating  the  consti- 
tutional convention  movement. 

They  will  never  accuse  me,  I  feel  sure,  of  harboring  the  ridiculous 
opinion,  advanced  and  maintained  by  one  John  AV.  Denver,  that  a  co- 
ordinate branch  of  a  legislative  assembly  can  sleep  while  the  other  is 
in  session,  but  will  testify  what  I  have  frequently  stated,  that  I  have 
known  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  highest  executive 
officer  in  the  Republic,  to  sleeplessly  occupy  for  several  successive 
nights  the  Speaker's  room  in  the  capitol,  in  order  that  no  law  of  Con- 
gress might  be  lost  to  the  people  for  want  of  his  prompt  action. 

One  J.  W.  Denver,  a  mere  executive  officer,  charged  with  the  exe- 
cution of  all  the  laws  of  this  Territory,  has  arrogantly  usurped  and 
ruthlessly  trampled  under  foot  the  legislative  department  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  a  free  people,  and  in  violation  of  his  official  oath  and  duty 
seeks  to  unite  in  his  own  person,  and  thus  control,  the  power  of  the 
sword  and  purse  of  the  people,  to  crush  out  their  liberties.  Truth, 
justice  and  manhood  require  that  the  villain  should  be  unmasked. 
I  pronounce  the  charges  he  has  preferred  against  me  utterly  untrue 
and  calumnious,  and  his  acts  towards  the  people  of  Kansas  perfidious 
and  tyrannical,  and  I  do  arraign  one  J.  W.  Denver  before  the  country, 
and  denounce  him  as  a  calumniator,  perjurer  and  tyrant. 

To  the  people  of  Kansas  I  have  this  to  say :  One  J.  W.  Denver  came 
to  Kansas  a  professed  duelist — his  hands  reeking  with  the  untimely 
shed  blood  of  his  fellow  man — having  won  from  his  friends  the  sobri 
quet  of  "  butcher" — a  fit  appointee  of  the  oligarchical  administration, 
which  disgraces  the  nation  by  its  criminal  efforts  to  enslave  a  free 
people !  For  base  political  purposes  he  has  sought  an  excuse  for  a 
difficulty  with  me,  and  out  of  a  public  act,  done  in  performance  of  my 
mperative  duty,  has  fastened  a  personal  quarrel  upon  me.  As  a  per- 


174  NO    INTERFERENCE    WANTED. 

sonal  quarrel,  it  is  private  property.  You  require  rest  and  peace, 
and  I  respectfully  demand  that  there  may  be  no  interference  on  the 
part  of  my  friends. 

He  has  assaulted  me,  not  for  individual  action,  for  I  have  never 
seen  him,  but  for  official  action,  and  as  a  representative  elect  of  that 
great  and  noble  party  whom  he  and  his  masters  have  sought  to  en- 
slave, and  in  the  spirit  of  that  party,  as  an  humble  member  of  it,  I 
hurl  back  his  allegations,  and  bid  him  and  his  masters  defiance. 

J.  H.  LANE. 

The  report  of  the  military  board  referred  to  is  signed  : 
J.  H.  Lane,  President ;  A.  D.  Richardson,  Assistant  Ad- 
jutant General ;  J.  G.  Cleveland,  Samuel  Jameson,  Geo. 
S.  Hillyer,  Samuel  Walker,  Brigadier  Generals;  J.  Fin 
Hill,  Inspector  General ;  Hiram  Housel,  Com.  General ; 
and  S.  B.  Prentiss,  Surgeon  General. 

We  do  not  propose  to  go  into  an  investigation  of  the 
allegations  of  Lane  as  to  the  homicide  with  which  he 
charges  him  ;  but  if  Lane  was  mistaken  in  his  charac- 
teristics, James  Buchanan  and  Jefferson  Davis  were  also 
mistaken  in  the  selection  of  the  man  for  their  purposes. 
If  Lane  was  guilty  of  any  conduct  in  his  official  position 
unwarranted  by  the  organic  act,  Denver  had  ready  ac- 
cess to  a  willing  court,  for  a  writ  of  quo  warranto,  and 
had  no  excuse  for  infringing  upon  judicial  powers.  The 
President  knew  that  he  had  the  reputation  of  a  fighting 
man,  and  "acknowledged  the  code,"  and  selected  him 
for  these  qualities.  The  legislature  which  selected  Lane 
knew  alike  the  caliber  of  their  man,  and  the  man  he  had 
to  confront.  It  was  war,  not  peace  ;  and  had  been  war 
from  the  very  outset  of  the  attempt  to  force  acts  of  usur- 
pation upon  the  people. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    LEAVENWORTH    CONSTITUTION. 

The  situation  in  Kansas  when  Gov.  John  W.  Denver 
was  sent  here  was  precarious  to  the  advocates  of  slavery. 
Gen.  James  H.  Lane  had  become  so  formidable  that  Pres- 
ident Buchanah  had  personally  denounced  him  as  a 
"  turbulent  and  dangerous  military  leader,"  in  a  special 
message.  Politically  dead  Kansas  Governors  were  strewn 
all  over  the  country,  and  the  Administration  was  adver- 
tising for  some  Goliath  of  Gath  to  overcome  the  armies 
of  Kansas,  when  they  discovered  John  W.  Denver. 
Lane  was  really  the  only  man  of  military  renown  among 
us,  though  he  had  already  brought  up  quite  a  number  of 
formidable  pupils.  Our  neighbors,  the  Missourians,  were 
getting  acquainted  with  us  enough  to  know  that  it  was 
best  to  be  polite  or  stay  away.  Seven  Governors — all, 
all  sent  as  messengers  to  plant  slavery  on  Kansas  soil — 
had  been  thwarted,  and  failed;  and  in  desperation  the 
Administration  had  sought  a  man  for  his  firmness  and 
his  courage,  a  man  of  tried  blood,  of  whose  position 
there  seemed  no  doubt  as  a  devotee  of  the  institution 


176  GOV.    DENVER    FULFILLING    HIS    MISSION. 

they  were  attempting  to  establish.  The  people  had  the 
legislature  at  last.  The  Lecompton  Constitution  had 
been  assailed  by  the  legislature  in  a  purpose  to  show 
that  the  objections  to  that  instrument  had  already  been 
submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people,  and  overwhelmingly 
condemned.  That  legislature,  however,  had  given  up 
no  hopeful  resort,  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  Admin- 
istration in  its  opposition  to  the  Topeka  Constitution,  that 
it  originated  in  a  mere  public  meeting,  and  lacked  the 
elements  of  a  non-partisan  document,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  it  had  passed  the  popular  branch  of  Con- 
gress. Devoted  as  the  people  were  to  that ' '  blood-stained 
banner,"  their  representatives  were  considering  the  pro- 
priety— the  strategy,  rather — of  passing  a  law  by  the 
legislature,  then  in  session,  for  another  convention,  the 
idea  being  with  many  to  make  it  a  mere  re-enactment 
of  that  document  so  dear  to  many  hearts,  and  a  bill  was 
soon  presented  to  the  legislature .  To  say  that  the  whole 
power  of  the  Adminstration  was  against  it,  is  but  assert- 
ing a  fact  demonstrated  by  the  shrewd,  strategic  opposi- 
tion of  the  few  adherents  of  Pro-Slavery  in  the  Territory, 
backed  by  Gov.  Denver,  who  was  but  fulfilling  his 
mission.  His  last  attempt  was  to  thwart  it  by  what  is 
called  "  pocketing  the  bill."  To  do  this  he  decided  the 
legal  question  of  when  the  legislative  session  expired, 
retained  the  bill  while  the  legislature  was  in  session,  and 
pertinaciously  declared  that  it  was  defeated. 

In  an  address  made  before  the  "Old  Settlers  Meeting," 
September  7,  1884,  Gov.  Denver  said : 


SUFFRAGE    QUALIFICATIONS.  177 

Well,  after  the  Constitution  came  around,  and  it  turned  out  that  it 
was  to  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people,  and  the  returns  were  to 
be  submitted  to  the  Governor  and  three  others,  .  .  '  .  and 
one  of  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  was  that  there  was  to  be 
"  universal  suffrage  ;"  that  every  man,  woman  and  child,  every  horse, 
every  cow,  everything  that  had  life  in  it,  should  have  the  right  to 
vote  in  Kansas.  Well,  that  was  only  an  illustration  of  the  wildness 
of  the  times.  .  .  .  Standing  here  as  the  representative  of 
the  General  Government,  taking  no  part  in  any  of  the  excitements,  it 
was  my  place  to  look  at  these  things  calmly  and  weigh  them  properly, 
and  act  for  the  good  of  the  people. 

To  show  how  "  calm  "  Gov.  Denver  was,  it  is  but  nec- 
essary to  quote  section  one  of  the  Suffrage  Article,  in  the 
Leavenworth  Constitution,  as  follows: 

ARTICLE  XI. — Section  1.  In  all  elections  not  otherwise  provided  for 
by  this  Constitution,  every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years  or  upwards,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the 
State  six  months  next  preceding  such  election,  and  ten  days  in  the 
precinct  in  which  he  may  offer  to  vote,  and  every  male  person  of 
foreign  birth,  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  or  upwards,  who  shal 
have  resided  in  the  United  States  one  year,  in  this  State  six  months, 
and  in  the  precinct  in  which  he  may  offer  to  vote  ten  days  preceding 
such  election,  and  who  shall  have  declared  his  intentions  to  become  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  conformably  to  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  ten  days  preceding  such  election,  shall  be  deemed  a  qualified 
elector. 

The  objections  which  struck  most  effectually  against 
this  article,  was  that  it  had  not  the  word  ' '  white  "  in  it, 
and  the  Pro-Slavery  leaders  were  exceedingly  bitter  on 
that.  If,  however,  Denver  meant  his  "  horse-and-cow  " 
theory  of  voting  as  irony,  it  was  a  flat  failure  ;  if  he 
meant  it  as  fact,  it  was  flatter  as  a  statement  unworthy 
of  his  character  as  a  statesman. 


178  THE    AMBITION    OP    HIS    LIFE. 

But  the  Lecompton  Constitution  lacked  the  same  word. 
(See  Wilder's  Annals,  page  183.")  It  said  "  every  male 
citizen  of  the  United  States  above  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years, ' '  and  so  forth ,  could  vote .  Lines  were  well  marked 
then,  between  slavery  and  freedom.  The  Dred  Scott  de- 
cision had  just  declared  that  negroes  were  not  citizens, 
but  "  chattels."  The  men  in  the  one  convention  recog- 
nized them  as  men — in  the  other,  as  things.  Lane  said  : 
"A  man  has  to  be  educated  up  to  man's  rights  of  equal- 
ity." The  sentiment  of  the  two  was  as  widely  distinct 
as  freedom  is  from  slavery. 

I  have  no  purpose  to  detract  from  the  character  of 
Gov.  Denver,  nor  from  his  ability.  He  was  the  eighth 
Governor  who  had  been  selected  by  the  slave-power  to 
subdue  Kansas.  Seven  came  and  seven  returned  from 
this  "Grave  of  Governors."  He  came  proudly  as  the 
last  resort  of  the  hopes  of  an  oligarchy  which  had  ruled 
the  nation  almost  from  its  foundation.  He  had  a  hard 
task  to  fulfill.  If  he  succeeded  in  turning  the  tide  which 
Lincoln  had  declared,  in  his  great  debate  with  Douglas, 
was  to  make  this  country  "  all  slave  or  all  free,"  he  was 
immortalized  ;  and  nothing  short  of  shearing  the  oligar- 
chy of  power  could  have  kept  him  out  of  the  Presidency. 

The  great  controversy  of  right  and  wrong  came  on  the 
question  of  his  "  pocketing"  the  bill  for  a  constitutional 
convention — the  one  under  which  was  framed  what  was 
called  the  Leaven  worth  Constitution. 

On  the  12th  day  of  January,  1858,  "  Mr.  [John]  Speer 
introduced  Bill  No.  41,  entitled  '  An  act  to  provide  for 


A    PEACE    OFFERING.  179 

the  election  of  Delegates  to  a  Convention  to  frame  a  State 
Constitution.' '  There  had  been  two  years  of  persever- 
ing adherence  to  the  Topeka  Constitution.  The  people 
had  rallied  to  it  as  to  an  ark  of  safety.  They  had  re- 
solved, and  even  sworn,  to  support  it,  and  many  lives 
had  been  sacrificed  to  sustain  it ;  and  they  were  loathe  to 
give  it  up.  Still,  tired  of  a  state  of  war,  the  opposition 
in  the  East  declaring  that  its  informality  was  the  special 
reason  why  it  could  not  prevail,  and  that  such  an  instru- 
ment, instead  of  originating  in  a  mass  meeting  of  the 
people,  and  a  convention  of  delegates  afterward,  although 
adopted  by  a  fair  vote,  was  so  informal  and  so  contra ry 
to  precedent  as  to  make  it  indefensible  :  all  these  con- 
siderations, well  weighed  by  its  author,  and  approved, 
as  he  believed,  by  the  wisest  counsels,  the  bill  was  drawn 
and  presented  in  the  honest  hope  that  it  might  restore 
quiet,  and  produce  alike  peace  and  success.  It  would 
have  done  all  this,  had  this  been  a  question  alone  for  the 
people  to  be  governed  by.  The  slave-power  had  forced 
the  Dred  Scott  decision,  which  practically  made  slavery 
national,  and  one  of  its  champions  had  defiantly  declared 
that  he  would  yet  "  call  the  roll  of  his  slaves  under  Bun- 
ker Hill  Monument."  This  bill,  therefore,  brought  out 
all  the  opposition  of  the  National  Administration,  and 
every  artifice  was  adroitly  used  to  delay  its  passage  in 
the  House  and  in  the  Council.  The  bill  finally  passed 
both  houses,  and  was  deposited  with  Mr.  Walsh,  the 
Governor's  private  secretary,  at  the  Governor's  table, 
ten  minutes  before  eleven  o'clock  on  the  ninth  day  of 


180  CONVENTION    BILL    POCKETED. 

March,  1858,  which  was  three  full  days  of  twenty-four 
hours  and  one  hour  and  ten  minutes  over  three  days  be- 
fore the  forty  days'  limit  of  a  legislative  session  by  the 
organic  act  of  Congress  had  expired.  The  legislature, 
however,  remained  in  session  one  day  longer.  Whether 
that  was  legal  is  immaterial.  The  organic  act  provided 
that  a  bill  held  by  the  Governor  for  more  than  three 
days,  unless  the  legislature  adjourned  before  such  three 
days  had  expired,  should  become  a  law  without  his  sig- 
nature ;  and  Gov.  Denver  held  that  the  legal  life  of  the 
legislature  expired  in  less  than  three  days  after  he  re- 
ceived the  bill,  and  held  it;  and  that  thus  it  failed  of 
passage. 

On  the  contrary,  Mr.  Whiting,  a  clerk  of  the  House  in 
which  the  bill  originated,  made  a  sworn  statement  to 
the  facts  which  I  have  stated,  and  such  sworn  statement 
was  ordered  entered  upon  the  journal,  and  on  motion  of 
Mr.  Speer,  a  resolution  was  passed  declaring  that  the 
bill  had  passed,  and  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Gov- 
ernor more  than  three  days  before  the  legal  expiration  of 
the  session,  and  directing  that  the  President  of  the 
Council  and  Speaker  of  the  House  be  empowered  to  cer- 
tify such  fact  upon  the  bill,  instructing  the  Superintend- 
ent of  Public  Printing  to  publish  it  with  the  laws  of  that 
session,  and  declaring  that  it  was  a  law  of  Kansas  Terri- 
tory. The  journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
shows  this  fact. 

On  the  20th  of  March  following,  Gov.  Denver  pub- 
lished an  article  in  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  in  which  he 


WHITING    AND    PRATT's     STATEMENTS.  181 

denied  the  passage  of  the  bill  before  the  expiration  of 
forty  days,  and  said  : 

Being  quite  unwell  that  evening,  I  told  Mr.  Walsh,  my  private  sec- 
retary, to  give  information  of  that  fact,  and  that  it  was  my  intention 
to  retire.  Shortly  after  he  left  the  room,  the  House  adjourned,  and 
and  after  his  return,  I  retired,  leaving  him  and  Mr.  R.  S.  Stevens  en- 
gaged in  writing  in  my  room.  They  were  the  only  persons  who  had 
been  there  for  two  or  three  hours  before.  This  was  after  11  o'clock, 
and  if  Mr.  Whiting  was  there,  it  wat  after  that  time,  and  afte  the 
House  had  adjourned  for  the  night. 

This  was  an  article  of  some  length,  but  the  quotation 
gives  the  gist  of  it. 

To  this  I  replied  in  an  article  in  the  Lawrence  Repub- 
lican of  February  25th,  saying  :  "It  may  be  a  query  how 
the  Governor  knew  who  was  in  his  room  for  three  hours, 
and  also  that  the  House  [more  than  a  block  away]  had 
adjourned  during  the  same  period  ;  and  it  strikes  me  that 
sensible  men  will  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  '  rumor ' 
was  concerning  the  adjournment,  and  that  the  sworn 
statement  of  Mr.  Whiting,  which  is  a  matter  of  record, 
is  worthy  of  at  least  as  much  credit  as  the  Governor's 
OPINION,  especially  if  he  was  sick  and  asleep.  Mr. 
Whiting's  statement  is  corroborated  by  Caleb  S.  Pratt, 
enrolling  clerk  of  the  Council,  who  was  at  the  door  of 
the  executive  chamber  with  other  bills."  Mr.  Whiting 
also  says  :  "  Perry  Fuller,  Esq.,  of  Centropolis,  Franklin 
county,  went  with  me  when  I  went  from  the  House,  and 
was  by  when  I  knocked  at  the  door.  Mr.  Walsh,  private 
secretary  to  Gov.  Denver,  came  to  the  door,  and  I  offered 
the  convention  bill  with  the  others  to  him.  He  said  the 


182  GOV.    DENVER    AT    BISMARCK    GROVE. 

Governor  had  retired,  and  he  could  not  receive  any  more 
bills  that  evening.  I  looked  at  my  watch,  which  I  had 
set  by  Gov.  Denver's,  and  found  that  it  was  exactly  ten 
minutes  to  eleven  o'clock.  Mr.  Pratt  also  looked  at  his 
watch,  and  it  was  eleven  o'clock  precisely.' 

This  ought  to  be  sufficient  wide-awake  testimony  to 
overcome  the  opinion  of  a  sick  man  asleep.  The  fact 
was,  that  these  active  men  had  all  their  senses  awakened 
in  the  idea  that  that  bill  might  be  "  pocketed."  They 
knew  that  every  strategy  known  to  the  enemies  of  free- 
dom would  be  exhausted  to  defeat  it.  I  had  prepared  the 
bill,  watched  it  at  every  turn,  with  intense  interest,  put 
it  personally  in  the  hands  of  Whiting,  and  saw  him  start 
for  the  door  of  the  Governor's  office  before  eleven  o'clock. 

The  next  day,  I  went  to  the  Governor's  room  on  other 
business,  and  he  said  to  me  :  "  Mr.  Speer,  I  have  heard 
that  you  said  I  was  avoiding  bills  to  prevent  their  pass- 
age." I  replied  quickly :  "I  said  no  such  thing.  On 
the  contrary,  I  said  precisely,  that  I  had  no  reason  to 
believe  you  would  do  so,  but  Gen.  Jackson  hadrf  pocketed' 
a  bill,  and  I  would  give  no  man  the  opportunity  with  a 
a  bill  of  mine  if  I  could  help  it."  He  replied  :  "I  am 
glad  to  hear  it." 

Gov.  Denver  was  invited  to  be  present  at  the  Old  Set- 
tlers' Meeting,  in  Bismarck  Grove,  near  Lawrence,  in 
September,  1884,  and  delivered  an  address.  In  that  ad- 
dress, he  said,  in  reference  to  this  bill : 

Well,  I  concluded  I  would  not  approve  that  bill  for  calling  a  con- 
vention to  frame  a  new  constitution.  Several  committees  were  ap- 


GOV.    DENVER    FRIGHTENS    THEM    ALL.  183 

pointed  by  the  legislature  to  call  upon  me,  begging  me,  if  I  would 
not  approve  it,  to  return  it  to  them  that  they  might  act  upon  it.  I 
told  them  no,  that  I  had  made  up  my  mind,  and  I  was  not  to  be  moved 
— that  I  thought  we  had  constitutions  enough,  and  that  I  had  an  abso- 
lute veto  in  that  case,  and  that  I  proposed  to  exercise  it,  which  I  did. 

The  next  night,  after  twelve  o'clock,  a  bill  was  brought  to  me.  pur- 
porting to  be  a  bill  calling  a  convention  for  a  new  constitution,  and 
endorsed  on  it  that  it  had  been  returned  by  the  Governor,  and  passed 
by  a  two-thirds  vote,  notwithstanding  these  objections.  That  was 
signed  by  the  four  officers,  the  presiding  officers  of  each  house,  the 
secretary  of  the  council,  and  the  clerk  of  the  assembly.  I  immedi- 
ately sent  for  them,  and  told  them,  that  while  that  act  of  theirs,  if  I 
was  disposed  to  act  upon  it,  gave  me  power  to  do  something  to  their 
disadvantage,  I  did  not  desire  to  do  it,  because  I  did  not  want  any 
trouble  or  disturbance  in  the  Territory  ;  that  that  was  all  wrong  on 
their  part ;  that  they  certified  to  that  which  was  not  true ;  that  that 
paper  had  never  been  before  the  Governor ;  that  the  bill  sent  to  him 
had  never  been  out  of  his  possession,  and  consequently  the  whole 
statement  was  false. 

Mr.  Currier  had  the  bill  in  his  hands.  He  asked  me  what  I  wanted 
them  to  do.  I  told  him  I  wished  them  to  do  one  of  two  things :  To 
give  me  a  certificate  of  the  fact  that  that  had  never  been  acted  upon 
by  the  legislature  at  all,  or  else  to  destroy  it  there  in  my  presence. 
They  said  that  that  would  be  pretty  rough.  Currier  said  that  he 
would  not  put  his  name  to  any  such  paper  as  that ;  and  said  he : 
"What  shall  we  do  with  it?"  Deitzler  said:  "Destroy  it."  He 
said:  "All  right;"  and  tore  it  up,  and  stuck  it  in  the  stove.  That 
was  the  last  of  that  bill. 

Now,  a  resolution  passed  after  the  term  had  closed,  after  twelve 
o'clock,  and  the  legal  term  of  the  legislature  had  absolutely  closed — 
a  resolution  was  passed,  declaring  that  that  bill  had  been  properly 
passed  by  the  legislature,  and  they  resolved  that  they  would  go  on 
and  hold  the  convention.  Notwithstanding  all  that  had  occurred, 
and  the  failure  of  the  bill  to  become  a  law,  they  decided  to  hold  the 
convention. 

I  can  know  nothing  about  what  Messrs.  Deitzler  and 


184  ACTS    OF    GEN.    DEITZLER. 

Currier  may  have  said  to  Gov.  Denver.  Their  actions  in 
the  House  I  do  know.  The  former  presided  over  the 
House  all  the  next  dav,  and  participated  in  and  signed 
the  proceedings  as  Speaker ;  and  the  latter  acted  as 
clerk,  and  made  and  signed  them ;  and  when  Mr. 
Walsh,  the  Governor's  private  secretary,  sent  a  message 
to  the  House,  stating  that  the  members  must  appear  and 
sign  the  pay-roll,  and  get  their  pay,  or  he  would  leave 
for  Lecompton,  the  Speaker,  sitting  in  his  chair,  very 
coolly  remarked ,  ' '  The  gentleman  has  my  permission  to 
leave  at  his  earliest  convenience." 

It  will  read  strange  to  those  who  knew  that  hero  of 
Wilson's  Creek,  Gen.  Deitzler,  and  have  seen  him  tried 
so  often,  that  he  quailed  before  the  majesty  of  the  Pres- 
ident's representative,  when  he  accused  him  of  forgery 
and  falsehood,  and  threatened  to  "do  something  to  his 
disadvantage."  It  is  not  mentioned  whether  he  was  to 
be  burnt  at  the  stake  as  other  "  abolitionists  "  had  been 
burned,  or  merely  imprisoned  as  he  had  been  for  several 
months,  when  he  had  done  no  wrong.  To  all  Deitzler' s 
acquaintances  this  will  seem  akin  to  the  Governor's 
story  about  horse-and-cow  voting  on  page  177. 

The  Governor  says  he  tells  this  story  as  "  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  wildness  of  the  times  ;"  and  we  repeat  it  as 
an  illustration  of  the  forgetfulness  of  a  wild-eyed  Gov- 
ernor in  Border-Ruffian  days.  To  think  of  all  these  men 
coming  to  the  Governor  for  forgiveness,  Deitzler  tremu- 
lously saying,  "  Destroy  it!"  and  Cyrus  F.  Currier  ac- 
quiescing, turning  pale,  casting  the  bill  in  the  flames  ! 


AX    EMINENT    BODY    OF    MEN.  185 

The  plain  truth  is,  that  the  House  remained  in  session 
all  night  and  into  the  next  day,  as  Congress  often  does, 
and  the  House  journal  before  me  shows  no  later  date 
than  March  12,  1858,  which  the  Governor  claims  was 
the  last  day  of  the  session  ;  and  this  I  state  as  a  member 
who  sat  in  the  House  very  wide-awake. 

We  say  in  the  interest  of  truthful  history,  that,  in  that 
Constitutional  Convention,  instead  of  being  composed  of 
wild,  impracticable  men,  there  were  twenty  members  of 
more  ability  as  statesmen  than  the  Governor  himself ; 
and  we  compliment  him  in  making  the  number  so  small , 
and  apologize  to  the  surviving  members  of  the  convention 
for  not  making  it  larger. 

We  are  startled  when  we  look  at  the  list  of  patriots 
who  signed  that  Constitution,  (see  Wilder 's  Annals, 
page  230,)  and  we  are  filled  with  emotions  of  admira- 
tion when  we  read  their  work  as  a  State  Paper. 

We  venture  to  name  a  few  of  the  members  :  Jaines  H . 
Lane,  President,  resigning  to  gratify  his  ambitious  young 
friend,  Martin  F.  Conway,  who  succeeded  him  ;  F.  G. 
Adams,  Wm.  Spriggs,  Win.  R.  Griffith,  P.  B.  Plumb, 

A.  Danford,  J.  R.  Swallow,  T.  Dwight  Thacher,  Robert 

B.  Mitchell,  Gustavus  A.  Colton,  Henry  J.  Adams,  W. 
W.  Ross.  Thomas  Ewing,  jr.,  James  S.  Emery,  T.  N. 
Blake,  Isaac  T.  Goodnow  ;  and  to  avoid  seeming  invidi- 
ous, we  quote  only  the  names  of  those  whom  we  can 
remember  as  holding  official  positions  State  or  National. 

And  Hon.  T.  Dwight  Thacher  has  written  a  history  of 


186        LAST    SOLEMN    PROTEST    OF   THE    LEGISLATURE. 

that  convention,  which  will  be  read  with  admiration  in 
the  progressive  ages  of  enlightened  civilization. 

Here  is  the  last  declaration  of  that  stigmatized  House 
of  Representatives  after  they  got  over  the  scare  given 
them  by  the  brave  and  distinguished  Governor : 

Mr.  Hanna  [afterwards  a  distinguished  member  of  Congress  from 
Indiana]  offered  the  following  concurrent  resolution,  which  was 
adopted,  and  Council  notified : 

Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  (the  Council  concur- 
ing,)  That  we  do  hereby,  for  the  LAST  TIME,  solemnly  protest  against 
the  admission  of  Kansas  into  the  Union  under  the  Lecompton  Con- 
stitution. 

That  we  hurl  back  with  scorn  the  libelous  charge  contained  in  the 
President's  message  accompanying  the  Lecompton  Constitution  to 
Congress,  to  the  effect  that  the  freemen  of  Kansas  are  a  "  lawless 
people." 

That,  relying  upon  the  justice  of  our  cause,  we  do  hereby,  in  hehalf 
of  the  people  we  represent,  solemnly  pledge  to  each  other,  to  our 
friends  in  Congress  and  in  the  States,  our  lives,  our  fortunes  and  sa- 
cred honor,  to  resist  the  Lecompton  Constitution  and  government  by 
force  of  arms,  if  necessary. 

That,  in  this  perilous  hour  of  our  history,  we  appeal  to  the  civilized 
world  for  the  rectitude  of  our  position,  and  call  upon  the  friends  of 
freedom  everywhere  to  array  themselves  against  this  last  act  of  op- 
pression in  the  Kansas  drama. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  requested  to  immediately  transmit 
certified  copies  of  these  resolutions  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  President  of 
the  Senate,  and  to  our  Delegate  in  Congress,  and  that  the  same  be 
presented  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

These  resolutions  were  passed  unanimously. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    HOMICIDE    OF    GAIUS    JENKINS. 

It  is  painful  to  write  unfavorably  of  the  dead,  whom 
we  have  always  respected  and  esteemed.  Gains  Jen- 
kins has  been  dead  for  thirty-eight  years,  and  Lane 
thirty  years.  Mr.  Jenkins'  acquaintance  I  made  on  the 
17th  of  May,  1855.  I  had  seen  him  before,  and  perhaps 
spoken  to  him .  He  kept  the  American  House  at  Kansas 
City,  I  think,  when  I  arrived  in  the  country,  September 
26,  1854 ;  and  I  stopped  at  that  hotel  then,  and  several 
times  during  the  ensuing  winter,  and  remember  seeing 
him. 

But  at  the  first  date,  (May  17,  1855,)  I  was  a  passen- 
ger with  him  on  the  Emma  Harmon  steamboat  from 
Kansas  City  to  Lawrence.  It  was  the  first  steamboat 
that  ascended  the  Kansas  river  after  white  settlement — 
the  Excel  had  made  several  trips  to  Fort  Riley  with  gov- 
ernment material  for  building  and  supplies  for  soldiers 
in  1853 — and  as  the  whole  trip  was  through  an  Indian 
reserve,  the  navigation  new,  the  channel  entirely  un- 
known, and  the  crew  had  to  cut  their  own  wood,  it  wras 
necessarily  a  tedious  one  ;  and  I  happened  to  fall  into 


188  BEGINNING    OF    CHAPMAN    CLAIM. 

conversation  a  good  deal  with  him  and  formed  a  good 
opinion  of  him  ;  and  the  second  day,  when  it  was  pro- 
posed to  hold  a  meeting  to  compliment  the  officers  of  the 
boat,  on  my  motion  he  was  made  president,  and  ever 
after  we  were  friends.  He  was  good-hearted,  generous 
and  hospitable,  but  a  man  of  irascible  temper,  and  given 
to  indulgence  in  strong  drink,  and  when  under  the  influ- 
ence of  liquor,  quite  passionate.  But  between  him  and 
me,  the  links  of  friendship  and  neighborly  ki  ndness  were 
never  broken. 

When  we  were  a  few  miles  below  Lawrence,  on  the 
boat,  he  told  me  he  had  a  claim  adjoining  the  town  of 
Lawrence,  and  that  he  had  a  man  named  Edward  Chap- 
man on  it.  I  had  known  Chapman  from  September  29, 
1854,  when  he  came  there,  and  had  slept  in  his  cabin  a 
night  or  two,  and  got  meals  at  his  place,  before  he  got 
any  occupancy  or  started  any  improvement  on  the  place 
afterwards  disputed.  I  told  Mr.  Jenkins  that  Chapman 
claimed  to  own  it  and  sold  a  portion  of  it  to  the  town 
company. 

I  was  on  the  committee  to  settle  what  were  called  the 
outside  difficulties,  a  dispute  as  to  town  lines,  involving 
this  claim.  He  replied  that  he  had  heard  something  of 
the  matter,  and  spoke  very  bitterly  of  Chapman's  treach- 
ery. Shortly  afterwards,  Mr.  Jenkins  attempted  to  build 
within  the  portion  which  Chapman  had  sold  to  the  town 
company,  and  a  number  of  the  people  of  the  town  com- 
pany turned  out  to  drive  him  off,  and  he  did  remove  his 
number  outside  of  the  lines  claimed  by  that  company. 


LANE    PURCHASES    FROM    CHAPMAN.  189 

I  have  no  doubt  Jenkins'  representations  that  he  fur- 
nished the  money  to  make  the  improvements  were  true ; 
but  I  had  been  there  a  few  days,  secured  a  membership 
in  the  town  company,  returned  to  Ohio  on  business,  and 
got  back  to  Lawrence  on  December  7,  1855,  remained 
there  till  April,  and  returned  with  my  family  in  com- 
pany with  Gaius  Jenkins,  arriving  at  Lawrence  May  18, 
1855,  and  never  heard  of  anybody  laying  claim  to  it  but 
Chapman,  until  Jenkins  told  me  on  the  boat  the  day  be- 
fore our  arrival,  although  I  had  been  on  the  committee 
to  adjust  rights. 

The  next  day  I  called  on  Chapman,  saw  a  double-log 
house  on  his  claim  which  he  told  me  belonged  to  Col. 
Lane,  to  whom  he  said  he  had  sold  a  part  of  his  posses- 
sions. 

It  seems  to  me  impossible  that  Lane  could  have  had 
any  knowledge  of  any  dispute  about  the  claim.  He  was 
an  entire  stranger ;  and  for  Chapman  to  have  told  him, 
would  have  depreciated  the  property,  if  not  prevented 
the  sale. 

In  this  book,  I  cast  to  the  wind  as  chaff  all  merely 
personal  matters  ;  but  the  character  of  a  man  on  so 
grave  a  charge  as  murder,  is  too  precious  to  avoid  a  full, 
clear,  honest  statement  of  facts.  There  never  was  so 
assiduous  and  malicious  an  attempt  to  blast  a  man's 
character  as  in  this  disastrous  transaction.  His  enemies 
have  published,  time  after  time,  statements  to  blast  his 
reputation  that  have  no  foundation  in  truth. 

One  of  the  •tatements  published  in  1884  was  made  by 


190  COL.  BLOOD'S  STATEMENT. 

Mr.  James  Blood.  We  republish  it,  because  it  was  relied 
upon  by  Lane's  opponents,  though  we  cannnt  see  its  re- 
lation to  the  case  : 

The  claim  was  located  by  Gaius  Jenkins  in  the  fall  of  1854,  in  my 
presence.  The  first  log  house  was  built  by  Jenkins,  he  furnishing  all 
the  means  and  material  and  paying  Chapman  in  full  for  all  the  work 
done  on  it  by  him.  Stilman  Andrews,  with  others,  dug  the  well  at 
the  first  log  house  built  as  above  stated,  and  was  paid  for  it  by  Jen- 
kins. The  frame  house  was  put  up  on  the  claim  by  Jenkins  in  Sep- 
tember or  October,  1855.  Jenkins  had  a  well  dug  by  the  frame  house 
in  the  fall  of  1855,  sixty-odd  feet  deep,  and  found  no  water.  Aaron 
Perry  and  Samuel  Fry  dug  this  well.  The  double-log  house  was 
bought  by  Jenkins  of  Lane  about  the  last  of  December,  1855,  accord- 
ing to  the  statement  of  both  Jenkins  and  Lane  to  me  at  that  time. 

The  statement  of  Mr.  Blood  is  a  fair  one  from  his 
standpoint,  but  it  makes  no  case  of  settlement,  and  a 
case  no  stronger  than  that  would  be  ruled  out  on  demur- 
rer. A  pre-emption  can  only  be  acquired  by  actual  per- 
sonal settlement,  and  an  attempt  to  hold  a  pre-emption 
by  proxy  is  fraudulent.  Chapman  claimed  it,  and  sold 
it  to  the  Lawrence  association,  (the  town  company,) 
or  a  part  of  it,  and  then  sold  his  right  to  Lane,  without 
Lane  having  any  knowledge  of  a  previous  sale ;  but  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Oliver  was  ahead  of  both  by  actual 
settlement,  and  Lane  bought  his  rights.  It  is  not  denied 
that  Lane  contracted  a  sale  to  Jenkins,  but  only  a  por- 
tion of  the  money  was  paid  ;  Jenkins  refused  to  pay  the 
balance  ;  Lane  tendered  him  back  in  gold  what  he  had 
paid,  and  peaceable  possession  was  never  given. 

This  writer  came  to  Lawrence  September  27, 1854,  and 
Mr.  Blood  had  previously  left  the  country  for  Wisconsin, 


MORE    OF    THE    SAME.  191 

and  remained  till  May,  1855,  and  then  found  Lane  on 
the  place.  The  alleged  proxy  settlement  of  Chapman 
was  made  in  the  fall  of  1854,  after  I  came  to  Lawrence. 

This  I  know  personally :  The  second  day  after  I  ar- 
rived at  Lawrence,  my  first  search  was  for  land,  and  I 
looked  all  over  the  tract  afterwards  in  dispute,  and  saw 
nothing  on  it  indicating  settlement  for  pre-emption,  and 
had  not  Edward  Chapman  claimed  to  me  that  he  had 
marked  it  for  a  home,  I  should  have  saved  all  this  trouble 
by  a  bona  fide  settlement. 

Here  is  another  statement  from  Mr.  Blood,  published 
in  newspapers  and  circulated,  which  is  absolutely  as 
strong  testimony  for  Lane  as  was  presented : 

KANSAS  TERRITORY,  ) 
DOUGLAS  COUNTY,    i  s' 

Personally  appeared  before  me,  the  undersigned,  James  Blood,  who 
deposes  and  says : 

Sometime  during  the  month  of  September,  A.  D.  1854,  I  came  to 
Lawrence,  from  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  in  company  with  Mr.  Gaius 
Jenkins.  AVe  camped  one  night  near  the  California  road,  on  the  hill 
south  of  Lawrence.  Mr.  Jenkins  told  me  at  that  time,  that  he  came 
here  to  Lawrence  to  commence  improvements  upon  a  claim  near  this 
place  with  the  intention  of  pre-empting  the  same.  Sometime  the 
next  day,  I  saw  him  at  work  near  the  place,  and  on  the  same  quarter- 
section  where  he  now  resides.  Subsequently,  in  the  fall  of  1855,  I 
believe  in  the  month  of  September  or  October,  Mr.  Jenkins  requested 
me  to  come  over  and  assist  him  in  erecting  a  house.  I  went  over  and 
found  him  at  wrork  with  several  men.  A  few  days  later,  I  was  there, 
and  found  him  with  his  family  in  said  house.  I  have  been  there  fre- 
quently since,  and  know  that  they  have  continued  to  reside  there, 
and  reside  there  at  this  time.  J.  BLOOD. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this  12th  of  October,  1857,  at 
Lawrence,  K.  T.  E.  D.  LAI>I>,  Notary  Public. 


192  NO    COMPLIANCE    WITH    PRE-EMPTION'    LAW. 

Col.  Blood  was  an  honest  man — warm  in  his  friend- 
ships, bitter  in  his  animosities.  If  there  was  one  trait 
in  his  character  more  marked  than  all  others,  it  was  his 
prejudice  against  Lane ;  and  next  to  that,  largely  grow- 
ing out  of  it,  was  his  friendship  for  Jenkins.  It  was  all 
of  a  year,  as  this  witness  shows,  from  the  time  he  states 
that  Jenkins  showed  him  the  claim,  and  he  saw  him  do 
some  work  on  it,  that  he  saw  him  personally  make  the 
first  pretense  of  improvement  under  the  pre-emption 
law,  and  it  was  still  later  before  his  family  moved  on  or 
he  made  any  semblance  of  settlement.  If  Col.  Blood 
could  have  conscientiously  named  a  single  day  that  he 
saw  Jenkins  residing  on  the  place,  or  eating  a  single 
meal  there,  he  would  gladly  have  stated  it.  After  Jen- 
kins'  first  pretended  settlement,  if  he  remained  absent 
more  than  thirty  days,  he  forfeited  his  rights  and  any 
man  could  have  legally  jumped  it.  That  is  the  law. 
Mark  the  difference  between  Col.  Blood's  "statement" 
and  his  affidavit — the  latter,  plain  facts  within  his  own 
knowledge;  the  former,  hearsay,  about  what  Andrews, 
Chapman,  Fry  and  Perry  did. 

I  have  a  musty  old  paper  of  the  times,  giving  a  long 
list  of  the  settlers,  with  dates  of  settlement,  section, 
township  and  range,  thus  : 

NAMK.  DATE    OK    SETTLEMENT.  8.  T.       R. 

(inius  Jenkins,  April  30,  1854.  n  e    36        12    19 

John  Speer,  Sept.  26,  1855.  e  V2  n  e    31        12    20 

Mine  is  correct,  and  no  dispute  as  to  date  of  any  of  the 

others.     If  Jenkins'  date  is  correct,  he  was  a  trespasser 

on  Indian  land  before  the  title  was  extinguished,  and 


A  CLERK'S  VITUPERATION.  193 

had  no  legal  rights  thereby,  evidently  having  come  into 
the  Territory  when  so  many  people  came  from  Missouri 
to  mark  homesteads  and  protect  them  in  defiance  of  the 
rights  of  the  Indians.  This  question  was  decided  in  the 
long-contested  case  of  Purinton  vs.  Smith. 

The  following  letters  have  been  published  and  re- 
published,  in  various  sources,  and  quoted  as  testimony 
against  Lane  : 

MONTOURSVILLE,  PA.,  Feb.  18,  1884. 
S.  C.  RUSSELL,  ESQ. — 

DEAR  SIR:  I  remember  you  very  well  as  the  attoiney  of  Jenkins — 
the  victim  of  Lane's  murderous  villainy — in  the  case  of  Jenkins  vs. 
Lane,  before  the  local  land  office  at  Lecompton. 

I  acted  as  clerk  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  and  perhaps  the 
whole  of  it,  after  the  case  was  re-opened  in  the  taking  of  the  testi- 
mony in  the  case.  I  do  not  know  what  became  of  the  book  of  testi- 
mony in  this  case,  unless  General  Brindle  knows  something  of  it.  It 
was  probably  destroyed  as  waste  lumber,  or  perhaps  turned  over  to 
General  Brindle's  successor. 

Soon  after  the  taking  of  the  testimony  was  finished,  Lane  seems  to 
have  thought  his  case  a  hopeless,  or  at  least  a  doubtful  one,  as  he  re- 
quested me  to  be  at  my  office  on  a  certain  evening  alone,  and  to  have 
the  book  of  testimony  with  me,  as  he  wished  to  look  over  it.  Lane 
came  to  my  office  after  I  had  waited  up  till  near  midnight,  and  was 
disappointed  and  disgusted  when  he  found  I  had  not  the  book  with 
me.  The  case  was  decided  most  unequivocally  in  favor  of  Jenkins 
by  the  land  office.  Soon  after  the  local  office  acted  on  the  case,  Lane 
requested  another  interview,  which  I  granted,  and  though  the  talk 
lasted  nearly  all  night,  I  can  sum  it  all  up  by  saying  that  the  whole 
object  of  it  was  to  induce  me  to  show  General  Brindle  good  and  suf- 
ficient reasons  for  changing  his  decision  in  this  case  before  it  was  sent 
to  the  General  Land  Office.  Lane's  first  inducement  was  an  offer  to 
guarantee  to  Brindle  and  myself  twenty,  and  afterwards  forty  acres 
of  the  disputed  land.  After  finally  convincing  Lane  that  it  would  be 


194  MORE    INFORMATION    FROM    CLERKS. 

a  dangerous  experiment  to  intimate  anything  of  the  kind  to  General 
Brindle,  he  left. 

I  did  not  mention  the  matter  to  General  Brindle  then,  and  indeed  I 
am  not  sure  that  I  ever  have  since.  There  are  two  prominent  gentle- 
men now  living  in  Kansas,  one  a  prominent  ex-county  office-holder 
at  Topeka,  and  the  other  in  the  banking  business  at  Emporia,  who,  I 
have  no  doubt,  will  remember  this  last  interview,  as,  at  my  request, 
they  were  within  willing  distance,  they  being  at  the  time  at  the  place 
of  business  of  the  former  gentleman  one  or  two  doors  above  my  office. 
Your  well-wisher  and  friend, 

HENRY  W.  PETRIKEN. 

But  here  is  another  statement  which  may  look  plau- 
sible to  those  who  never  investigated  this  homicide  : 

HON.  CHARLES  ROBINSON. — 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  In  answer  to  your  question  as  to  whether  or  not  the 
land  office  at  Lecompton  had  decided  in  the  land  case  between  Jen- 
kins and  Lane  at  the  time  of  Jenkins'  death,  and  as  to  my  knowledge 
of  the  case  itself,  will  say :  That  the  case  had  been  settled  by  the 
Register  and  Receiver  of  the  Pawnee  Land  District,  then  located  at 
Lecompton,  in  favor  of  Gaius  Jenkins  and  adverse  to  James  H.  Lane. 
This  decision  had  been  given  several  weeks  before  the  shooting  of 
Jenkins.  Lane  was  apprised  of  this  decision  by  the  Register  and  Re- 
ceiver and  by  his  attorney  in  the  case,  Wilson  Shannon.  I  took  all 
the  evidence  in  the  case,  was  and  am  familiar  with  the  facts  in  the 
litigation.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  had  also  confirmed  the  de- 
cision of  the  land  office  at  Lecompton.  All  of  these  facts  were  in  the 
possession  of  Lane  at  the  time  of  and  before  the  killing  of  Jenkins. 

After  Lane  was  elected  United  States  Senator,  he  had  the  case  re- 
opened, and  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  reversed  the  decision  of  the 
land  office  and  of  the  former  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

Jan.  8,  1884.  Respectfully,  ELY  MOORE. 

We  might  mildly  suggest  to  Mr.  Petriken  that,  for  the 
truth  of  history,  he  ought  to  have  stated  the  name  of  the 
Topeka  ex-office-holder  out  of  a  thousand  or  two  of  that 


A    CONSPIRACY.  195 

ilk,  who  was  up  stairs,  or  up  the  hill  waiting;  and  it 
might  lead  to  truth,  if  he  would  state  what  kind  of 
banking  the  Emporia  financier  is  engaged  in,  whether 
National  banking,  State  banking,  or  faro  banking. 

Mr.  Petriken  discovered  that  Lane  was  either  a  fool  or 
a  chump !  No  man  who  ever  knew  anything  of  Lane 
would  believe,  that  if  he  had  had  even  a  shrewd  scheme 
in  politics  to  propose  to  that  young  man,  he  would  not 
have  drawn  his  chair  close  up  to  him,  straddled  his 
knees,  and  getting  within  eighteen  inches  of  his  eyes, 
pointed  his  long,  bony  finger  at  him,  and  whispered, 
"Young  man,  this  is  strictly  confidential,"  and  you 
would  not  have  heard  him  two  yards  away. 

We  would  like  to  witness  a  caucus  of  these  three  wise- 
acres and  have  them  explain  why  they  neither  took  Lane 
up,  and  got  their  share  of  that  claim  ;  nor  came  out  and 
exposed  the  rascality,  and  saved  that  widow  and  her 
family  that  valualbe  property.  If  we  recollect  aright, 
if  it  was  Buchanan's  administration,  an  honest  man  was 
at  the  head  of  the  General  Land  Office ;  and  yet  they 
did  not  even  tell  General  Brindle,  but  "nursed  their 
wrath  to  keep  it  warm ' '  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  when  that  young  man's  virtuous  bosom  heaved, 
and  broke  forth  likea  volcano  ! 

Thus  far,  we  have  given  the  accusations  against  Lane 
by  his  most  positive  enemies — statements  which  have 
been  extensively  published  in  newspapers  a  dozen  years 
ago.  Their  only  purpose  could  be  to  show  that  Lane 
was  a  lawless  man,  holding  tl"»  home  of  his  neighbor  by 


196  OFFICIAL    SOURCES    LOOKED    UP. 

force,  after  the  highest  tribunal  of  the  land  had  decided 
against  him,  and  from  whose  decision  there  could  be  no 
appeal. 

Fortunately  this  Government  keeps  records  ;  and  they 
come  out  as  bright  to-day  as  when  they  were  put  in  the 
vaults  forty  years  ago.  We  have  before  us  the  official 
statements  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  General  Land 
Office  under  three  administrations,  all  corroborating  the 
fact  that  no  decision  was  ever  made  by  the  Lecompton 
land  office,  or  any  other  tribunal,  until  after  Jenkins 
had  been  dead  for  more  than  four  months. 

In  search  of  the  exact  truth,  we  addressed  Hon.  W.  S. 
Lamereux,  the  present  Commissioner,  asking  him  to 
give  us  the  "  date  of  first  decision  of  local  land  office  at 
Lecompton,  trial  de  novo,  if  any  occurred,  or  review  or 
rehearing,  if  any;  and  dates  of  all  such  hearings  and 
decisions  before  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  whether 
original  or  on  review — in  short,  all  essential  facts  which 
could  possibly  be  of  interest  historically  ; "  and  we  present 
in  juxtaposition  the  statement  of  our  own  fellow-citizen, 
of  Topeka,  Commissioner  McFarland,  under  President 
Arthur's  administration,  and  that  of  Judge  Lamereux, 
Commissioner  under  the  present  Cleveland  administra- 
tion, with  the  remark  that  the  statement  of  the  present 
Commissioner  is  the  more  complete  because  more  infor- 
mation was  asked  for,  and  there  could  be  no  disagree- 
ment, when  information  was  asked  from  men  who  knew 
the  truth  and  wanted  to  tell  it.  The  facts  here  presented 
are  a  clear,  indisputable  refutation  of  all  such  charges : 


ALL  REPORTS  AGREE.  197 

UNDER  ARTHUR.  UNDER  CLEVELAND. 


GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE,  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Feb.  2,  1884.  >    WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Oct.  10, 1894.  ) 

J.  H.  SHIMMONS,  Esq.,  Lawrence,  MR.  JOHN  SHEER,  Lawrence,  Kan. 
Kansas.  SIR  :  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  let- 

Your  letter  of  the  28th,  in  which  ter  of  no  date,  [should  read :  Law- 
you  request  to  be  furnished  a  copy  ence,  Ks.,  Sept.  20, 1894,]  endorsed 
of  the  contract  between  Lane  and  by  Hon.  W.  A.  Harris,  asking  for 
Jenkins  and  a  copy  of  Col.  Blood's  dates  of  all  decisions  and  other  in- 
evidence  to  be  found  in  the  papers  formation  relative  to  the  contest 
on  file  in  this  office  in  the  case  of  case  of  Gains  Jenkins  vs.  J.  H. 
Jenkins  vs.  Lane,  Lecompton,  K.T.  Lane,  involving  the  N.  E.  #  of 
— also  with  the  dates  of  the  several  section  36,  T.  12S.,  R.  19  E.,  Le- 
decisions  in  said  case,  and  in  whose  compton,  Kansas,  land  district, 
favor  they  were  made,  has  been  re-  In  reply,  I  have  to  state,  that  an 
ferred  to  this  office  for  answer,  and  examination  of  the  records  in  the 
in  reply  inclose  herewith  a  copy  of  case  in  this  office,  shows  that  on 
the  affidavit  of  Blood,  and  would  October  19,  1857,  the  Register 
state  that  the  contract  referred  to  and  Receiver  of  the  United  States 
is  not  with  the  papers  in  said  case,  land  office  at  Lecompton,  Kansas, 
nor  can  they  be  found  in  the  files  inade  a  report  in  which  they  stated 
of  this  office.  their  "inability  to  render  a  de- 

With  regard  to  the  decisions  in  cision"in  the  matter  and  transmit- 
said  case,  our  records  show  that  ted  to  this  office  all  papers  in  the 
there  were  three :  first  by  the  Reg-  case  for  its  examination  and  final 
ister  and  Receiver  under  date  of  decision. 

October  6, 1858,  awarding  the  land  December  16,  1857,  the  local  of- 
in  contest  (N.  E.  sec.  36,  T.  12,  R.  ficers  were  directed  to  take  addi- 
19  E.)  to  Jenkins.  The  second  by  tional  testimony,  and  render  an 
my  predecessor  under  date  of  July  opinion. 

20,  1861,  reversing  the  decision  of  September  12, 1858,  the  Register 
the  local  officers,  and  awarding  rendered  a  decision  in  favor  of 
the  S.  E.  ^,  S.  W.  %  and  N.  W.  Jenkins,  in  which  opinion  the  Re- 
%  of  the  said  N.  E.  %  to  Lane,  ceiver  refused  to  concur,  deeming 
whicli  decision  on  appeal  to  the  the  additional  testimony  insuffi- 
Honorable  Secretary  of  the  Inte-  cient.  Subsequently,  however,  on 
rior  was  affirmed  by  him  Decem-  October  6,  1858,  the  Receiver  con- 
ber  31,  1861.  curred  with  the  Register,  in 

Very  respectfully,  awarding  the  land  to  Jenkins. 

N.  C.  MCFARLAND,  Afterwards,  by  decision  of  this 

Commissioner.      office  of  July  20,1861,  their  decision 


198  RECORDS    BRIGHT    AS    FORTY    YEARS    AGO. 

was  reversed,  and  the  right  of  entry  given  to  Lane.  An  appeal  was 
taken  from  this  decision  to  the  Honorable  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
and  decisions  were  rendered  by  him  dated  December  31,  1861,  Decem- 
ber 27,  1862,  and  February  21,  1863,  approving  the  decision  of  this 
office  and  awarding  the  land  to  Lane. 

Patent  for  a  portion  of  the  tract  S.  %  and  N.  AV.  %  of  N.  E.  M, 
issued  March  15,  1862.  Patent  for  the  remaining  portion  N.  E.  X  of 
N.  E.  M,  issued  February  23,  1863.  Very  Respectfully, 

s(3F /flP^J**&C***& 

Commissioner. 

There  had  been  such  a  perfidious  determination  to  fal- 
sify all  the  records  of  the  land  offices,  local  and  general, 
in  this  unfortunate  homicide,  that  I  requested  Judge 
Lamereux  to  give  me  the  statement  in  his  own  hand- 
writing, instead  of,  as  is  usual,  over  the  signature  of  a 
clerk,  which  request  he  has  kindly  complied  with  ;  and 
I  am,  therefore  enabled  to  present  this  refutation  of 
falsehood  in  fac  simile  over  the  broad,  emphatic  signa- 
ture of  the  present  Commissioner  himself ;  and  the  rec- 
ords, instead  of  being  destroyed  as  "waste  lumber," 
stand  there  as  bright  as  they  did  forty  years  ago. 

The  reason  for  the  different  dates  of  the  decisions  on 
different  sub-divisions  of  the  quarter-section  is  accounted 
for  in  the  fact  that  they  embraced  portions  of  the  city  of 
Lawrence,  heretofore  referred  to  as  contracted  by  Chap- 
man, and  notices  had  to  be  given  and  the  rights  of  occu- 
pants considered. 


A    WAIF    ON    THE    WATERS    OF    FALSEHOOD.  199 

But  here  comes  a  waif,  with  no  date  and  no  address, 
which,  to  my  knowledge,  has  floated  upon  the  waters  of 
falsehood  for  several  years  : 

We  had  decided  that  Jenkins  was  entitled  to  his  claim  before  he 
was  killed  ;  at  the  time  of  his  death,  we  were  hearing  the  case  again. 
It  had  been  sent  back  to  enable  Lane  to  put  in  additional  testimony, 
which  we  received,  but  which  did  not  show  him  to  have  been  the  prior 
settler.  WILLIAM  BRIXDLB. 

This  is  supposed  to  be,  and  is  quoted  as,  a  statement 

from  Receiver  Brindle,  who,  we  have  seen,  could  not 
agree  with  the  Register,  when  he  made  up  his  tardy 
mind  in  favor  of  Jenkins  more  than  three  months  after 
he  was  dead,  as  shown  by  Judge  Lamereux's  statement, 
and  all  other  statements.  This  quotation  is  probably  a 
forgery.  Jenkins  was  killed  June  3,  1858 ;  Register 
Moore  took  more  than  three  months  to  consider,  and  de- 
cided Jor  Jenkins  September  12,  1858  ;  Receiver  Brindle 
disagreed,  but  got  his  conscience  to  consent  October  6, 
1858,  and  the  first  decision  was 'made  October  6,  1858, 
more  than  four  months  after  Jenkins  was  dead.  No 
other  decision  was  made  under  Buchanan's  administra- 
tion, though  it  did  not  expire  for  two  years  and  five 
months.  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  was  Commissioner 
of  the  General  Land  Office,  an  honest  man,  but  a  bitter 
opponent  of  Lane.  Does  any  body  suppose,  if  there  had 
been  a  good  case  against  Lane,  that  eminent  lawyer  and 
statesman's  heart  could  not  have  been  touched  with  sym- 
pathy for  the  widow  and  orphans  of  Gaius  Jenkins,  and 
justice  been  hastened,  instead  of  delayed?  Hon.  Joseph 
Wilson,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Hendricks  under  Buchanan, 


200  COMPROMISES. 

and  remained  in  the  office  during  all  of  Lincoln's  admin- 
istration, decided  the  case  in  favor  of  Lane,  as  Thomas 
A.  Hendricks  would  have  done  had  he  reached  it.  No 
just  lawyer  could  have  decided  it  otherwise. 

This  was  a  perplexing  case  to  the  local  officers.  The 
Pro-Slavery  mob  that  invaded  and  ruled  Kansas  dictated 
decisions  and  overruled  justice.  If  the  land  officers  had 
decided  that  case  in  favor  of  Lane  at  a  certain  stage  of 
its  proceedings,  their  official  heads  would  have  gone  off 
in  a  jiffy,  and  they  would  have  been  compelled  to  seek 
personal  safety  in  an  escape  from  Lecompton.  The  bit- 
ter antagonisms  of  Pro-Slavery  hate  would  have  tolerated 
no  such  decision. 

Mr.  John  H.  Shimmons,  the  partner  of  Lane,  for  two 
terms  postmaster  of  Lawrence,  and  intimate  with  the 
facts ,  gives  us  this  statement : 

The  case  summed  up  stands  thus :  During  the  summer  of  1854,  Dr. 
Lykins,  of  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  selected  the  claim,  and  employed 
David  Hopper  to  set  up  four  posts  six  feet  high,  and  to  nail  scantling 
from  post  to  post,  to  notify  people  that  he  had  selected  that  claim. 
Afterwards  he  became  acquainted  with  Chapman,  who  was  engaged 
as  hostler  for  Gaius  Jenkins,  proprietor  of  the  American  House,  in 
Kansas  City.  Chapman  had  no  money  to  improve  the  claim  or  to 
build  a  house  to  live  in  during  the  winter.  It  was  then  agreed  be- 
tween Jenkins  and  Chapman,  that  Jenkins  would  furnish  the  money, 
and  he  and  Chapman  should  each  own  one-half.  In  March,  1855, 
Chapman  sold  to  the  Lawrence  town  company  his  right  and  title  to 
said  claim  for  the  sum  of  $2,500,  parts  in  lots,  cash  and  promissory 
notes.  Chapman  settled  with  Jenkins  for  his  half  of  the  claim  by 
giving  him  his  personal  note  for  $1,250,  Jenkins  accepting  said  note  in 
full  payment  of  his  interest.  Chapman  then  made  a  new  settlement 
south  of  the  claim  he  had  sold  to  the  town  company.  This  new  set- 


THEN    THE    FIGHT    BEGAN.  201 

tlement  he  sold  to  Lane  in  April,  1855,  for  $600.  Lane  built  a  house 
on  the  claim  and  fenced  and  broke  ten  acres  of  land,  and  planted  it  in 
corn.  During  the  summer  of  1855,  Jenkins  and  Chapman  quarreled 
over  the  non-payment  of  the  note  given  by  Chapman  to  Jenkins. 
Jenkins  then  advertised  that  he  would  contest  the  claim  with  the 
town  company,  as  Chapman  was  a  "jumper."  Chapman,  in  August, 
1855,  advertised  that  he  had  not  received  any  consideration  for  siiid 
note,  and  would  not  pay  it.  In  September  or  October,  1855,  Jenkins 
undertook  to  build  a  house  on  the  original  claim.  Chapman  and  the 
town  company  tore  down  the  frame,  and  threw  the  lumber  off  the 
land  claimed.  Then  he  made  a  purchase  of  one-half  of  Lane's  claim 
for  the  sum  of  $800,  payable  in  cash  and  notes,  and  a  small  account 
against  J.  H.  Shimmons.  Each  one  was  to  have  half,  and  each  one  to 
pay  half  of  pre-emption  money.  If  Lane  should  die,  Jenkins  should 
pre-empt,  and  give  one-half  to  James  H.  Lane,  jr.  If  Jenkins  should 
die,  Lane  would  pre-empt,  and  give  half  to  Mrs.  Jenkins.  Lane  then 
permitted  Jenkins  to  build  his  house  on  his  (Lane's)  claim.  When 
the  section  lines  were  run,  both  of  their  houses  were  on  the  same 
quarter-section.  Jenkins  then  refused  to  pay  the  note  which  he  had 
given  Lane,  unless  Lane  would  abandon  all  to  Jenkins,  which  Lane 
refused  to  do.  Then  commenced  the  fight  on  Lane.  Upon  the  advice 
of  Governor  Shannon,  Lane's  counsel,  Lane  offered  to  divide  with 
Jenkins.  Jenkins  refused  to  take  half.  All  the  right  Jenkins  ever 
had  in  the  said  claim  he  relinquished  when  he  accepted  the  $1,250 
note  from  Chapman,  thereby  recognizing  the  sale  of  Chapman  to  the 
town  company.  All  the  equity  Jenkins  had  against  Lane  was  under 
the  contract  with  Lane.  When  he  refused  to  pay  the  consideration 
mentioned  in  the  contract,  he  forfeited  all  his  rights  under  that 
contract. 

Perhaps  no  better  statement  of  facts  in  brevity  could 
be  made  than  this.  It  may  elucidate  the  situation  to 
state  that  this  contest  was  under  the  original  pre-emption 
law  of  September  4,  1841.  It  was  on  unsurveyed  lands 
of  what  was  known  as  the  Shawnee  Purchase,  by  treaty 


202  JENKINS    WANTS    TO    SELL. 

with  that  tribe  of  Indians,  and  the  right  to  settle  before 
survey,  which  led  to  many  contentions. 

The  following  is  the  advertisement  referred  to  by  Mr. 
Shimmons,  which  we  copy  from  the  Kansas  Tribune  of 
September  15,  1855 : 

NOTICE  is  HEREBY  GIVEN  TO  E.  CHAPMAN,  of  the  town  of  Lawrence, 
K.  T.,  that  the  farm  claim,  which  I  laid  near  the  said  town,  and  which 
he  has  jumped  and  pretended  to  sell  to  one  John  P.  Wood,  I  shall 
pre-empt  and  hold,  as  I  have  been  forcibly  ejected  therefrom  by 
threats  and  demonstrations  of  violence.  Said  Chapman  has  not  a 
particle  of  right  thereto,  and  I  shall  prove  my  title  beyond  dispute. 
All  persons,  therefore,  are  hereby  warned  not  to  purchase  lots  or  city 
interests  of  said  Chapman  or  Wood,  located  upon  said  claim,  as  they 
have  no  right  to  sell  the  same.  And,  as  I  am  in  favor  of  the  move- 
ment now  being  made  by  the  Outsiders  to  break  up  the  settlement  of 
March  last,  I  shall  transfer  said  claim  to  them,  if  I  deem  best. 

G.  JENKINS. 

LAWRENCE,  Aug.  29,  1855. 

This  advertisement  is  clearly  in  evidence  against  Mr. 
Jenkins.  He  had  been  driven  off  the  land  by  the  Law- 
rence Association,  or  town  company,  composed  princi- 
pally of  New  England  people,  who  believed  that  he  was 
a  trespasser  upon  their  rights,  as  they  had  innocently 
purchased  from  Chapman,  whom  he  warns  the  world 
against  as  a  "jumper" — that  is,  a  trespasser.  But,  at 
the  same  time  that  he  asserts  his  own  rights,  he  unlaw- 
fully gives  notice  that  he  will  sell  to  the  "  Outsiders,"  if 
he  "  deems  best."  The  "  Outsiders  "  were  principally 
Pro-Slavery  men,  who  were  making  a  fight  against  the 
city  authority,  to  "  break  up  the  settlement  of  March 
last, "  thereby  attempting  to  hold  the  town  against  what 


A    GREAT    JURIST    DECIDED    THE    LANE    CASE.  203 

was  known  as  the  "  Robetaile  Float,"  an  Indian  land 
warrant  from  the  United  States  to  Robert  Robetaile,  a 
Shawnee,  his  heirs  and  assigns.  This*  warrant  could 
only  be  laid  on  lands  unsettled  ;  and  in  order  to  effect 
that  right,  every  settler  had  to  waive,  and  did  waive,  his 
rights  of  settlement.  To  have  made  Jenkins'  proposed 
contract  with  any  party  would  have  disqualified  him  for 
making  the  required  oath  of  a  pre-emptor,  that  he  was 
taking  the  land  for  cultivation  and  improvement,  for 
his  own  use  and  benefit,  and  had  neither  sold  nor  agreed 
to  sell  it. 

This  was  at  least  the  third  attempt  which  Jenkins  had 
made  to  speculate  upon  that  land  ;  while  Lane  had  never 
done  a  single  act  to  indicate  anything  but  an  honest  pur- 
pose of  settlement,  and  offered  to  divide  with  Jenkins, 
as  has  always  been  allowed  under  the  rules  of  the  land 
office  in  contested  cases. 

No  inferior  nor  partisan  court  decided  the  Lane  case. 
Hon.  Joseph  Wilson  was  a  profound  land  lawyer,  as 
honest  as  he  was  learned  ;  was  Acting  Commissioner  un- 
der Commissioner  Hendricks  during  Buchanan's  admin- 
istration, and  was  retained  by  President  Lincoln  for  his 
ability  as  an  officer  and  his  worth  as  a  man.  He  decided 
the  celebrated  Osage  Ceded  Land  case,  involving  mil- 
lions of  dollars  to  two  railroad  companies,  and  was 
importuned  to  death  to  reverse  his  decision,  some  of  the 
railroad  advocates  reminding  him  he  had  changed  his 
politics  under  Lincoln  ;  to  which  he  responded  that  "  a 
man  would  be  a  blamed  fool  who  could  n't  change  as 


204  HIS  ENEMIES'  BOASTS  ACQUIT  HIM. 

fast  as  an  administration,  but  he  would  be  an  infernal 
scoundrel  to  change  that  judicial  decision."  The  Secre- 
tary of  the  Intetior  overruled  him  ;  and  under  a  special 
act  of  Congress,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
sustained  Wilson.  He  decided  the  Lane  case. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  how  young  men,  merely  growing 
into  matured  manhood,  might,  under  the  pernicious 
Pro-Slavery  influence  of  Lecompton,  be  led  to  "  imagine 
vain  things" — hear  falsehood  so  often  as  to  cause  them 
to  think  it  must  be  truth  ;  and  on  solicitation,  perhaps 
under  refreshing  suggestions  or  reminders,  be  made  to 
give  currency  to  libels  upon  the  silent  dead  ;  but  to  use 
such  statements  when  the  public  archives  plainly  show 
their  falsity,  is  fiendishly  wicked. 

Four  men  came  armed  with  an  ax,  rifles  and  revolv- 
ers, to  drive  Lane  from  his  home  or  kill  him  ;  and  the 
case  principally  depended  upon  the  wicked  declarations 
of  the  assailants  ;  and  they  alone  would  have  acquitted 
him.  Not  only  did  these  four  men  cut  down  the  fence  of 
his  own  dooryard,  but  they  advanced  to  within  a  few 
steps  of  him,  and  fired  the  first  shot,  wounding  him  so 
severely  in  the  knee  that  for  several  days  he  had  to  re- 
main in  his  house  before  trial,  in  danger  of  his  life  by 
tetanus  and  blood-poisoning.  These  were  the  admissions 
of  the  accomplices,  one  of  them  declaring  that  if  his  gun 
had  gone  off,  Lane  never  would  have  killed  Jenkins,  and 
another  (Jenkins'  nephew)  said  he  meant  to  have  killed 
him.  The  plea  of  going  for  water  was  a  mere  subter- 
fuge ;  for  there  was  a  spring  of  clear,  sparkling  water r 


HIS    ENEMIES    OUTLIVED    HIM.  205 

free  to  all,  gurgling  from  Mount  Oread,  more  easily 
accessible  to  Jenkins*  house  than  the  well  he  sought, 
even  if  Lane's  gate  and  well-curb  had  stood  wide-open  ; 
and,  to  those  who  know  the  locality  of  the  house,  now 
removed,  the  waters  of  that  pure  well  and  that  sparkling 
spring  continue  to  give  everlasting  testimony  to  the  truth 
of  this  statement;  and,  if  undisturbed,  will  continue  to 
so  testify.  He  had  gone  before,  seized  Lane's  ax  from 
his  wife,  cut  the  well  open  in  his  absence,  and  sent  him 
a  defying  notice  that  he  was  going  to  have  water  or  a 
fight ;  and  it  is  in  testimony,  that  when  Mrs.  Lane  re- 
monstrated against  such  violence  as  ungentlemanly  in 
her  husband's  absence,  he  insultingly  told  her,  "You 
are  no  lady,  if  you  say  so." 

It  has  been  stated  by  many  who  have  spoken  upon 
Gen.  Lane's  character,  that  he  was  a  favorite  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Indiana,  but  always  antagonized  by  the  politicians. 
This  was  emphatically  true  of  him  in  Kansas,  and  hosts 
of  them  who  were  circumvented  by  him  in  life  have  out- 
lived him  to  anathematize  his  character  through  the 
whole  thirty  years  since  his  death.  It  is  easy  to  say, 
"  He  killed  a  man  who  wanted  to  get  water  out  of  his 
own  well ;"  but  the  man  had  sold  the  well  to  Chapman, 
and  in  his  testimony  before  the  John  Sherman  commit- 
tee, April  28,  1856,  swore  he  did  not  vote  in  Kansas  in 
the  fall  of  1855,  because  he  lived  in  Missouri.  (Page 
549.)  Never  was  the  axiom  truer  than  in  this  case,  that 
a  falsehood  will  travel  a  mile  while  truth  is  getting  on. 
its  boots. 


206  GEN.    LANE    DEFENDS    HIMSELF. 

In  an  address  published  in  the  Lawrence  Republican 
of  March  19,  1859,  to  the  people  of  Kansas,  Gen.  Lane, 
in  reply  to  accusations  by  the  notorious  Captain  Ham- 
ilton, said  to  have  been  a  brother  of  the  Captain  Ham- 
ilton of  the  Marais  des  Cygnes  Massacre,  makes  this 
statement  in  his  own  behalf,  in  regard  to  the  homicide 
of  Jenkins : 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  It  is  known  to  you  that  I  have  sedulously  avoided 
responding  to  assaults  made  upon  me,  either  by  the  public  press  or 
by  individuals,  since  my  residence  among  you.  But,  while  this  lias 
been  my  rule  of  action,  I  trust  you  will  pardon  me  for  calling  your 
attention  to  the  following  resolution,  purporting  to  have  been  offered 
by  Captain  Hamilton,  and  adopted  by  what  is  called  a  law-and-order 
public  meeting  of  Bourbon  county  on  the  21st  of  February  last : 

"  Resolved,  That  Jim  Lane,  the  murderer  of  Jenkins,  was  a  fit 
leader  for  the  mob  in  Lawrence,  and  the  fact  of  his  firing  upon  me 
and  robbing  my  command  was  a  most  ridiculous  act  of  cowardice, 
and  but  adds  one  more  infamous  page  to  a  life  of  treason,  stratagem 
and  spoils." 

I  do  not  propose  to  notice  farther  than  to  refer  to  the  fact,  that  the 
meeting  that  adopted  the  above  resolution  was  arranged  by  the  Dem- 
ocratic wire-pullers  before  Captain  Hamilton  left  Lawrence.  But  I 
proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  resolution  itself. 

As  to  the  charge  first  referred  to,  as  it  is  sought  to  be  used  by  the 
press  in  the  pay  of  the  administration  [Buchanan's]  to  the  detriment 
of  the  Free-State  party,  I  take  occasion,  for  the  first  time,  reluc- 
tantly, to  submit  some  facts  with  reference  to  that  subject,  in  miti- 
gation of  any  judgment  which  those  not  fully  conversant  with  the 
transaction  may  be  disposed  to  pass  upon  me  in  connection  there- 
with. It  is  true  that  Mr.  Jenkins  fell  by  my  hand ;  but  no  one  has 
more  deeply  felt  or  grievously  mourned  that  misfortune  than  myself ; 
but  it  is  also  true,  that  the  fatal  trigger  was  not  drawn  until  the  pres- 
ervation of  my  own  life  and  that  of  my  family  seemed  to  me  to  im- 
peratively demand  it.  At  the  time  of  the  occurrence,  I  was  beset  by 


MET    POUR   ARMED    MEN    IN    THE    OPEN    FIELD.        207 

four  armed  men  within  a  few  yards  of  me,  rushing  upon  me,  who  had 
with  force  and  violence  broken  down  my  fence  and  entered  my  enclo- 
sure against  my  earnest  entreaties.  Three  shots  were  fired  by  them, 
two  of  which  touched  my  person — one  passing  through  my  garments, 
the  other  cutting  my  hair  from  my  left  temple  ;  the  third  shot  pene- 
trated the  window  of  my  house,  into  the  room  occupied  by  my  fright- 
ened and  shrieking  family  ;  and  almost  simultaneously  with  my  own 
shot,  the  fourth  was  made,  striking  me  on  my  knee,  which  proved  in 
the  sequel  nearly  fatal  to  my  life,  and  the  lead  of  which  I  shall  carry 
to  my  grave.  During  the  whole  attack,  I  desisted  from  firing  upon 
my  assailants  until  the  last  possible  moment.  The  shot  fired  by  me 
was  bird-shot,  and  the  only  load  I  had  of  any  kind  on  my  premises, 
having  only  the  day  before  loaned  my  Sharp's  rifle  to  General  Mc- 
Donald. 

Three  times  before  this  event,  persons  of  the  same  party,  and  in 
my  absence,  had  broken  down  my  inclosure  and  entered  my  premises, 
and  on  the  fatal  morning  word  was  sent  to  me  that  they  were  again 
coming.  I  replied  to  them  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  desiring  them 
not  to  come.  I  saw  them  approaching,  armed  with  an  ax,  Sharp's 
rifles  and  revolver.  I  met  them  at  the  fence,  unarmed,  and  besought 
them  in  the  kindest  manner  not  to  resort  to  force — saying  to  them, 
that,  if  they  really  wanted  Water,  so  long  as  there  was  a  drop  in  the 
well,  they  should  have  it,  provided  they  came  into  the  yard  through 
the  gate,  as  others  did.  My  appeals  were  in  vain.  It  was  not  until 
they  had  broken  down  my  inclosure  and  rushed  into  the  yard,  that  I 
took  the  gun  into  my  hands,  and  thus  imperfectly  armed  against  such 
odds,  resisted  them  in  open  field.  Having  once  in  my  life  received 
against  my  person,  in  the  front,  a  load  of  shot  from  a  gun  similar  to 
the  shot  used  by  me  in  this  defense,  which  did  not  pierce  the  cavity 
of  my  body,  and  did  no  other  injury  than  to  prostrate  me,  I  do  sol- 
emnly declare,  and  appeal  to  Almighty  God  for  the  truth  of  my  state- 
ment, that  I  had  no  intention  of  killing  Mr.  Jenkins,  when  I  fired 
upon  him,  and  expected  only  to  knock  him  down,  and,  at  the  most, 
wound  or  disable  him. 

Although  I  have  never  asked  any  one  to  endorse  my  conduct  in  this 
affair,  I  am  compelled  to  inquire  whether  there  is  any  one  who  can- 


208  THE    OPEN-FIELD    FIGHT. 

(I  idly  believes,  that,  surrounded  by  the  same  circumstances,  he  would 
not  have  acted  in  the  same  manner  ?  In  view  of  the  fact  that  a  board 
of  three  justices  of  the  highest  respectability  and  intelligence  assem- 
bled at  the  time  and  place,  after  having  spent  weeks  in  patient  inves- 
tigation of  the  transaction,  and  upon  their  oaths  found  no  reasonable 
cause  existed  to  believe  that  any  crime  or  offense  against  the  law  had 
been  committed  in  the  premises ;  and  furthermore,  the  grand  jury, 
composed  of  the  most  substantial  men  of  Douglas  county,  patiently 
examined  all  the  evidence  in  behalf  of  the  Territory,  and  were  unable 
therefrom  to  find  an  indictment — the  case  having  been  adjudicated — 
it  is  respectfully  submitted,  whether  the  law-and-order  meeting  above 
referred  to  was  not  entirely  estopped  from  preferring  such  a  charge. 
In  reference  to  the  second  charge  preferred,  the  writer  denies  that 
he  has  ever  led  a  mob  in  Lawrence  or  elsewhere. 

Hon.  H.  S.  Clarke,  who  has  been  sheriff  of  Douglas 

county,  regent  of  the  State  University,  and  the  recipient 
of  several  other  official  positions,  and  a  man  of  the  best 
repute,  informs  me  that  during  the  contest,  he  was 
invited  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Shimmons,  one  night,  to  go  to 
Lane's  log  house  and  remain  during  the  night,  the  reason 
given  being  that  Jenkins  threatened  to  drive  Lane  away 
by  force.  Shimmons  told  him  he  thought  there  would 
be  no  conflict,  but  he  wanted  a  witness  if  difficulty  should 
occur.  Mr.  Clarke  went,  and  stayed  till  4  o'clock  in  the 
morning ;  and  he  describes  the  scene  as  one  of  fearful 
danger.  Jenkins  and  two  or  three  men  were  in  one 
room  and  Lane  in  another.  Jenkins  was  violent  in  his 
abuse,  and  threatened  several  times  to  throw  him  out  of 
the  house,  and  made  violent  demonstrations  towards 
putting  his  threats  in  force,  prevented  by  the  restraint 
of  his  friends  ;  while  Lane  laid  upon  the  floor  or  in  a  re- 
clining position,  some  of  the  time  apparently  asleep, 


THE    MOS  '    CHARITABPE    VIEW.  209 

though  he  does  not  believe  he  slept  a  wink.  Mr.  Shim- 
mons  describes  that  night  scene  in  a  very  similar  manner. 
Both  of  them  affirm  the  cool,  calm  manner  of  Lane. 

Mr.  Clarke  also  says,  speaking  of  the  trial  afterwards, 
that  proof  was  offered  going  to  show  that,  after  Jenkins 
fell,  Lane  brought  his  gun  down  to  a  rest  at  his  side, 
turning  his  side  towards  the  attacking  party,  both  hands 
down  his  side,  so  as  to  present  the  narrowest  side-view 
possible  to  the  discharges  of  the  guns. 

Perhaps  the  most  charitable  view  that  can  be  taken  of 
Jenkins'  conduct  may  be  derived  from  the  candid,  fair 
testimony  of  Hon.  James  F.  Legate,  his  personal  friend, 
and  in  a  partisan  sense  an  opponent  of  Lane,  that  Jen- 
kins was  drinking  heavily  that  day,  which  was  corrob- 
orated by  Hon.  John  G.  Haskell,  State  House  architect, 
and  brother  of  Hon.  Dudley  C.  Haskell,  the  distingished 
member  of  Congress.  There  was  some  conflicting  tes- 
timony on  that  point,  but  it  was  from  a  stand-point  either 
of  love  and  affection  for  the  dead ,  or  opposition ,  anxious 
on  the  one  hand  to  shield  the  reputation  of  the  beloved, 
or  on  the  other  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  the  man  by  whom 
he  had  been  slain.  The  truth  is,  as  I  see  it,  that  he  was 
maddened  by  liquor  and  evil  counsels,  and  not  the  right- 
minded  Gaius  Jenkins  at  all.  I,  myself,  saw  Jenkins  not 
ten  days  before  his  death,  in  a  frenzied  state  of  intoxi- 
cation, threatening  Lane's  life. 

The  following  letter  from  Hon.  James  Christian,  to 
Mr.  J.  H.  Shimmons,  published  for  the  first  time,  will 
throw  some  light  on  the  situation  between  these  men  • 


210 


THE    HOMICIDE    OF    JENKINS. 


JUDGE  CHRISTIAN'S  STATEMENT.  211 

ARKANSAS  CITY,  KAN.,  Jan.  7,  1884. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND:  Your  letter  of  December  27  was  received  in 
due  time  ;  but  I  had  not  the  opportunity  of  answering  it  until  now. 
My  opportunities  for  answering  correspondents  are  not  as  good  as 
when  you  first  knew  me.  My  daughter,  who  does  my  writing  gene- 
rally, was  absent  at  Topeka  when  your  letter  was  received,  and  there 
was  another  matter  that  I  wished  to  hunt  up  before  I  attempted  to 
answer  your  letter.  I  alluda  to  an  article  that  I  published  in  the 
Arkansas  City  Traveler  some  five  or  six  years  ago,  and  my  daughter 
was  compelled  to  hunt  over  the  files  of  the  Traveler  office  [of]  several 
years  before  she  could  find  it,  which,  fortunately,  she  did,  under  the 
date  of  April  3,  1878.  You  may  have  seen  the  article ;  but  if  not,  I 
send  you  an  exact  copy  from  the  file  in  the  possession  of  the  old  editor. 

In  reference  to  what  you  say  the  land  office  records  state  was 
my  evidence,  I  have  now  no  remembrance  of  so  testifying,  either  in 
the  land  office  or  before  'Squire  Ladd,  at  the  examination  of  Lane  for 
the  killing  of  Jenkins.  But  I  have  a  very  distinct  recollection  of 
having  often  said  to  friends  and  acquaintances,  when  interrogated  on 
that  subject ;  and  I  think  it  highly  probable  that,  if  the  question  was 
asked  me  upon  the  examination,  that  I  so  testified,  because  it  has 
been  a  rule  with  me  through  life  never  to  make  a  candid  statement 
to  any  man  that  I  am  not  willing  to  swear  to,  if  properly  called  upon  ; 
but  I  cannot  see  how  the  records  of  the  land  office  could  possibly  have 
been  lumbered  with  that  matter.  The  personal  difficulties  between 
Lane  and  Jenkins  could  have  no  possible  bearing  upon  the  question 
of  who  was  entitled  to  the  claim  ;  and  I  think  that  'Squire  Ladd  took 
down  most  of  the  testimony  in  writing  at  the  preliminary  examination 
of  Lane,  though  doubtless  it  has  been  destroyed  long  ago,  as  these 
events  occurred  some  twenty-six  years  ago. 

My  first  personal  acquaintance  with  Jenkins  was  early  in  the  spring 
of  1855,  when  he  consulted  me  as  a  lawyer  with  reference  to  his  claim 
— or  rather  the  Chapman  claim — to  which  he  then  laid  claim,  giving 
me  as  a  reason  that  Chapman  was  only  his  hired  man — that  he  had 
furnished  him  money  and  materials  in  Kansas  City,  to  come  up  into 
the  Territory  and  hold  the  claim  he  (Jenkins)  had  selected  the  previ- 
ous fall. 


212  CHAPMAN'S  RASCALITY'. 

We  had  a  long  and  familiar  conversation  on  the  subject,  during 
which  I  told  him  I  had  no  doubt  that  all  his  statements  were  true, 
but  that,  according  to  my  view  of  the  pre-emption  law,  a  man  could 
not  hold  a  claim  for  another  as  he  would  hold  a  neighbor's  horse  by 
the  bridle  ;  in  fact,  that  a  man  could  not  hold  a  claim  by  proxy.  He 
flew  into  a  violent  passion,  and  swore  he  would  have  that  claim  at  all 
hazards ;  but  at  (his  time  his  anathemas  were  all  directed  towards 
Ed  Chapman,  who,  he  stated,  had  betrayed  his  confidence,  and  acted 

the scoundrel.  I  told  him  that  I  had  no  apology  to  offer  for 

Chapman's  conduct.  He  may  be  all  he  describes  him  to  be  ;  but  that 
he  was  the  first  man  to  make  a  permanent  settlement  upon  the  claim, 
erected  a  dwelling  thereon,  and  inhabited  the  same,  as  the  law  re- 
quired. This,  in  my  judgment,  settled  the  hash  with  Mr.  Jenkins. 
This  conversation,  I  think,  occurred  before  Lane  came  to  Lawrence  ; 
at  least,  it  was  before  I  had  seen  Lane.  It  was  while  Jenkins  lived  in 
Kansas  City,  and  had  come  up  to  see  about  his  affairs.  I  have  had 
frequent  talks  with  Jenkins  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  Always  the 
most  friendly  relations  existed  between  us.  His  first  enmity  against 
Lane  was  grounded  on  the  fact  that  Lane  had  purchased  a  part  of  the 
Chapman  claim,  lying  outside  of  the  float,  his  (Lane's)  interest  be- 
coming antagonistic  to  his  own,  and  naturally  fearing  him  and  his 
influence  as  being  more  powerful  than  that  of  Chapman. 

There  were  other  causes  that  widened  the  breach  between  Lane  and 
Jenkins.  It  was  well  known  to  the  early  settlers  of  Lawrence  that 
there  was  sometimes  a  bitter  feeling  existing  between  the  New  Eng- 
land element  and  what  was  termed  the  Western  Free-State  men — the 
former  Jenkins'  friends,  and  the  latter  Lane's  admirers. 

Gaius  Jenkins  was  a  generous,  whole-souled,  warm  friend,  but  of 
an  impulsive,  violent  temper,  particularly  when  he  was  influenced  by 
liquor — a  habit  that  he  frequently  indulged  in.  Lane,  you  know,  on 
the  contrary,  was  cool  and  deliberate.  I  witnessed,  on  one  occasion, 
at  Lecompton,  a  little  episode  that  illustrates  the  truth  of  what  I  say. 
It  was  one  day  while  we  were  engaged  taking  testimony.  Some  one 
foolishly  remarked,  in  the  presence  of  Lane  and  Jenkins,  that  "  the 
best  way  for  them  to  settle  the  difficulty  was  to  go  out  and  fight  it 
out."  Jenkins  instantly  remarked,  in  a  loud  voice,  that  that  would 


A    ROW    IN    THE    LAND    OFFICE.  213 

suit  him  ;  that  he  would  agree  to  that  proposition  ;  that  if  Lane  would 
go  out,  the  case  would  be  decided  in  a  few  minutes.  Lane  instantly 
jumped  to  his  feet,  folded  his  arms  across  his  breast,  and  with  a  most 
terribly  bitter  sneer  upon  his  face,  remarked  :  "  Any  man  that  would 
let  a nigger  take  him  prisoner  need  not  talk  to  me  about  fight- 
ing!" Jenkins  simply  remarked,  his  face  red  with  passion:  "The 
unkindest  cut  of  all."  Col.  Mooie,  the  Register  of  the  land  office, 
coming  on  the  scene,  in  his  stentorian  voice,  commanding  "Silence!" 
all  quieted  down,  and  the  testimony  proceeded. 

You  all  remember  that,  during  the  year  1856,  while  the  political 
excitement  ran  at  its  highest,  Milt  McGee's  negro  man  arrested  Gaius 
Jenkins  and  another  man  on  their  way  up  to  Kansas.  This  was  the 
circumstance  that  Lane  alluded  to  in  the  above  episode. 

Your  own  remembrance  as  well  as  others  in  Lawrence,  is  that  Jen- 
kins was  influenced  with  liquor  at  the  time  the  difficulty  occurred 
that  ended  his  existence.  He  had  been  drinking  freely  all  the  fore- 
noon in  company  with  men  hostile  to  Lane. 

I  believe  I  have  answered  all  the  inquiries  you  name  so  far  as  my 
memory  serves  me  at  this  time.  I  am,  sir, 

Very  respectfully,  your  old  friend, 

JAMES  CHRISTIAN'. 

From  the  Arkansas  City  Traveler,  April  3,  1878. 
A    SCRAP    OF    HISTORY. 

FRIEND  SCOTT  :  As  the  Historical  Society  of  Kansas  seems  desirous 
of  scraps  of  the  unwritten  history  of  Kansas,  to  illustrate  the  lives 
and  acts  of  its  early  settlers,  I  propose  to  give,  through  your  paper, 
a  little  light  on  one  of  the  saddest  events  that  ever  occurred  in  the 
early  days  of  Kansas  settlement.  I  mean  the  death  of  Gaius  Jenkins 
at  the  hands  of  James  H.  Lane,  familiarly  known  as  Jim  Lane.  The 
circumstances  of  the  killing ;  the  supposed  causes  that  led  to  the  ter- 
rible calamity  ;  the  trial  of  Lane  before  justice  Ladd,  and  all  the  facts 
connected  with  it,  were  published  in  the  papers  of  that  day.  But  as 
nearly  all  the  principal  actors  in  the  drama  are  now  in  their  graves, 
I  propose  to  give  a  little  scrap  of  history — a  link  in  the  chain  of  causes 
that  produced  that  catastrophe,  which  came  under  my  own  observa- 
tion, and  of  which  I  had  personal  cognizance  at  the  time. 


214  DESECRATION    OF    HIS    CHILD'S    GRAVE. 

Those  familiar  with  the  early  settlers  in  Lawrence  will  remember 
that,  shortly  after  Lane  settled  in  that  place,  in  the  spring  of  1855, 
one  of  his  children  died,  and  was  buried  on  his  claim,  a  short  distance 
southwest  of  the  old  log  house  he  then  lived  in.  Around  the  little 
grave  was  a  neat  paling  fence.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  the  troubles 
commenced.  Col.  Lane  was,  as  all  will  remember,  absent  much  of 
the  time  during  that  winter  and  the  following  year  of  1856,  and  his 
family,  with  the  exception  of  little  Jimmie,  was  then  in  Indiana. 
During  the  troubles,  and  while  Lane  was  absent  pleading  the  cause  of 
the  Free-State  party,  Jenkins,  being  a  settler  on  the  same  claim,  took 
forcible  possession  of  Lane's  log  house,  and  plowed  up  and  cultivated 
the  land  that  Lane  had  broken  up,  and  on  which  his  child  was  buried. 
In  1857,  on  return  of  Lane  and  family,  all  traces  of  the  grave  were 
gone,  having  been  plowed  over  and  cultivated  the  previous  year,  and 
the  fence  removed,  so  that  not  the  faintest  trace  of  where  the  grave 
was  could  be  found.  Lane  and  myself  spent  several  days  hunting 
and  digging,  about  where  we  supposed  the  grave  was  located,  and 
both  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  body  had  been  dug  up,  as  no 
trace  of  the  coffin  could  be  found,  or  any  part  of  the  paling  fence. 
When  we  concluded  it  must  have  been  raised  by  some  one,  Lane  in- 
stantly laid  it  to  Jenkins,  his  enemy  and  claim  contestant.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  expression  of  his  face,  as,  with  compressed  lips,  he 
exclaimed:  "Such  a ghoul  is  not  fit  to  live.  If  I  was  only  cer- 
tain that  he  dug  up  my  child  out  of  revenge  upon  me,  I  would  kill 
him  at  first  sight."  The  tears  started  in  his  eyes;  I  tried  to  calm 
him  by  telling  him  we  might  be  mistaken  in  the  exact  distance  from 
the  house — that,  as  the  ground  had  been  plowed  over,  and  no  mound 
was  perceivable,  the  body  might  still  be  there.  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "  but 

why  did  the brute  tear  the  paling  away,  and  plow  over  the  grave, 

so  that  it  could  never  be  found  ?" 

This  was  a  question  that  I  could  not  answer,  but  had  to  admit  it  was 
a  most  beastly  and  inhuman  act.  The  remembrance  of  that  child's 
grave  still  rankled  in  his  breast  against  JeTricn*s  -until  the  fatal  en- 
counter in  1858,  when  Jenkins  was  slain. 

Gen.  Lane  until  the  day  of  his  death  believed  that  Jenkins  dug  up 
the  child  and  threw  it  away.  Whether  he  was  guilty  or  not,  God  only 


A    DEEP    DESIGN    TO    KILL  LANK.  215 

knows.  But  these  are  the  facts,  as  I  saw  and  heard  them.  Lane, 
with  ail  his  faults,  was  a  loving  and  affectionate  father,  passionately 
fond  of  his  children. 

The  circumstances  of  the  times,  the  prejudices  of  the 
court,  the  vengeance  of  the  slave  oligarchy,  the  malice 
of  disappointed  ambition,  were  all  against  him.  I  give 
it  as  my  deliberate  judgment,  that  Jenkins,  while  in 
every  way  the  aggresser,  was  not  wholly  to  blame ;  but 
that  there  was  a  deep  design,  and  a  determination,  to 
urge  Jenkins  on,  until  Lane  was  either  driven  out  of  the 
country  or  killed.  On  what  other  theory  can  we  account 
f  or-  the  -convenient  presence  of  Sheriff  Jones  and  Border 
Ruffian  Maclean  immediately  after  the  death,  the  former 
bold  enough  to  suggest  hanging,  and  the  people  so  indig- 
nant as  to  drive  them  away  ? 

After  his  discharge  by  the  justices,  he  asked  to  be  held 
for  trial,  so  that  his  case  might  come  before  the  Territo- 
rial court,  under  a  Judge  appointed  by  the  President. 
This  the  justices  decided  they  could  not  do  ;  but  his  ene- 
mies eventually  brought  the  case  before  the  grand  jury, 
and  they  failed  to  find  a  bill  of  indictment. 

In  publishing  Captain  Christian's  statement,  we  have 
two  remarks  to  make  :  We  fully  believe  in  the  truth  of 
his  statement ;  but  we  do  not  allege  that  Mr.  Jenkins 
perpetrated  any  such  dastardly  deed  as  exhuming  the 
remains  of  that  child.  Charity  will  suggest  to  every 
good- feeling  heart,  as  it  did  to  that  of  Captain  Christian, 
some  other  reason  for  the  desecration  of  that  grave.  But 
that  it  was  desecrated,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Very  re- 


216  THE  FATHER'S  GRIEF. 

cently,  in  conversation  with  Gen.  Lane's  daughter,  she 
spoke  very  feelingly  and  sadly  about  the  lost  grave,  but 
no  feeling  of  reproach  or  suspicion  escaped  her  lips.  It 
may  have  been  the  work  of  some  brute  in  human  form 
for  the  anatomical  market.  It  might  have  been  the 
careless  deed  of  some  hired  hand,  told  to  clear  all  obsta- 
cles out  of  the  way  for  plowing,  knowing  nothing  of  the 
sacred  treasures  within  the  inclosure  ;  or  the  reckless- 
ness of  immigrants  in  camp  in  search  of  kindling  for  the 
camp  fire  after  a  hard  day's  drive,  in  the  shades  of  even- 
ing or  after  nightfall.  Let  us  hope  for  some  other  cause 
than  brutal  malignity  toward  the  living  and  the  dead. 

On  the  other  hand,  let  the  sympathetic  heart  go  out  to 
the  distressed  father.  What  of  him  ?  Looking  over  a 
plowed  field  for  the  remains  of  a  dead  infant,  and  in  his 
agony  thinking  of  the  dire  antagonism  of  the  man  with 
-whom  he  had  quarreled  and  of  his  frequent  threats  to 
drive  him  from  what  he  considered  his  honestly-pur- 
chased and  honestly-earned  home  by  strict  and  faithful 
compliance  with  the  pre-emption  laws  in  settlement  and 
improvement,  the  very  house  from  which  he  had  carried 
his  infant  in  his  arms,  to  find  it  a  resting  place,  till  the 
doomed  city  of  his  choice  should  select  a  suitable  city  of 
the  dead,  such  as  the  beautiful  Oak  Hill,  where  he  at 
last  reposes,  and  where  all  his  dead  save  that  one  infant 
have  been  by  loving  hands  tenderly  laid.  Let  parents 
take  this  to  themselves,  and  say  what  might  have  oc- 
curred with  them  under  similar  circumstances.  If  Lane 
and  Jenkins  had  happened  to  meet  then  and  there,  and 


A    CONFESSION    UNDER    OATH.  217 

in  that  frame  of  mind,  Lane  had  killed  him  on  the  spot, 
no  jury  would  have  convicted  him,  but  would  have  made 
it  "  emotional  insanity  "  at  least. 

This  duty  to  the  dead  is  of  too  unpleasant  a  nature  to 
pursue.  I  have  written  much  on  Lane  in  the  thirty 
years  since  his  death  ;  and  the  following  extract,  in  reply 
to  an  assault  upon  his  memory,  is  all  that  I  ever  have 
said  on  this  subject : 

I  think  the  most  unjust  thing  ever  said  is  this:  "  In  fact,  no  blood 
was  drawn  under  this  hero,  except  when  he  fired  ninety-three  bird 
shot  into  the  body  of  Jenkins,  whose  claim  he  had  jumped."  I  have 
never  allowed  myself  to  write  at  all  on  the  death  of  Jenkins.  Two 
widows  and  their  families  remain,  whose  hearts  I  would  fain  not 
wound  by  a  recital  of  this  homicide.  In  saying  that  Lane  "  jumped  " 
his  claim,  you  accuse  Gaius  Jenkins  of  perjury.  Gen.  Lane  settled  on 
that  claim  in  April,  1855.  Gaius  Jenkins,  in  his  testimony  before  the 
John  Sherman  investigating  5bmmittee,  April  28,  1856,  swears,  under 
examination  by  Gov.  Reeder,  page  549:  '  I  left  Kansas  City  [Mo.]  on 
the  morning  of  the  day  of  the  election  last  fall,  [1855,]  and  started  to 
come  up  to  this  place  by  Gum  Springs.  The  election  was  held  under 
the  authority  of  the  legislature  for  Congressional  Delegate.  Before 
leaving  Kansas  City,  I  was  asked  by  Mr.  Milton  McGee  to  go  over  to 
"VVyandotte  and  vote.  I  said  I  had  no  right  to  vote,  as  I  was  then  a 
resident  of  Kansas  City." 

This  election  was  October  1,  1855,  more  than  five  months  after 
Lane  settled  on  that  claim. 

That  oath  was  made  according  to  law,  and  subject  to 
all  the  pains  and  penalties  of  perjury  under  the  laws  of 
the  United  States ;  that  testimony  was  truthful  testi- 
mony ;  and  that  testimony  alone,  as  an  admission  from 
the  party  interested,  would  have  broken  any  pre-emption 
claim  ever  laid  upon  the  lands  of  the  United  States. 


218         KERNELS    OF    TRUTH— CHAFF    OF    FALSEHOOD. 

With  all  this  clearness  of  exposition,  I  have  to  apolo- 
gise to  the  reader  for  the  verbosity  of  this  chapter ;  and 
my  reason  is,  in  a  determination  to  give  everything,  pro 
and  con,  that  could  possibly  have  any  bearing  upon  this 
disastrous  transaction,  that  the  candid  reader  may  sift 
every  kernel  of  truth  from  the  mass  of  the  chaff  of  false- 
hood, and  give  them  their  full  weight  and  influence. 

This  painful  duty  is  done,  and  I  am  willing  to  submit 
it  to  the  sober  second-thought  of  all  intelligent  readers, 
which  is  seldom  wrong,  and  always  efficient. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A    PERIOD    FRUITFUL    OF    IMPORTANT    RESULTS. 

The  years  1858,  1859  and  1860  were  the  period  that 
was  to  make  statesmen.  There  were  two  legislatures  to 
elect  in  1859 — the  Territorial,  for  the  last  time,  as  was 
supposed,  and  the  State,  for  the  first  time,  under  the  Wy- 
andotte  Constitution ;  but  the  tardy  action  of  Congress 
under  Buchanan's  administration  prolonged  the  Territo- 
rial existence  for  another  year.  The  State  Legislature 
was  to  start  the  machinery  of  the  State  in  motion  ;  while 
the  Territorial  seemed  destined  to  smash  all  slates  and 
play  havoc  with  many  politicians. 

Lane's  modes  were  comparatively  quiet.  Depressed 
with  the  sad  circumstances  heretofore  discussed,  he  had, 
nevertheless,  not  only  made  many  friends,  but  his  most 
violent  opponents  had  made  more  strength  for  him  than 
he  had  made  for  himself;  and  he  seized  upon  all  their 
mistakes  and  misdemeanors  with  avidity. 

When  the  proper  time  came  for  action,  the  year  1859 
enlisted— or,  rather,  re-enlisted — all  his  energies.  A 
legislature  was  to  be  elected,  and  that  legislature  was.  to 
elect  two  United  States  Senators.  Strange  to  say,  he 


220  SEEKS    A    TERRITORIAL    ENDORSEMENT. 

was  found  to  have  absolutely  secured  a  majority  of  both 
legislatures  in  his  favor,  and  had  a  project  to  secure  two 
elections — first,  as  an  endorsement,  by  the  Territorial 
Legislature,  by  election  as  United  States  Senator.  It 
will  be  recollected  that  the  State  was  not  admitted  into 
the  Union  until  January  29,  1861 ;  and  when  the  Terri- 
torial Legislature  met,  January  7,  1861,  twenty-two  days 
before  admission ,  there  was  no  certainty  when  we  would 
be  admitted,  but  it  was  morally  certain  that  Congress 
would  not  adjourn  without  our  admission.  He  wanted 
the  Territorial  election  as  an  "endorsement,"  showing 
popular  favor  in  advance  of  any  possible  action  by  the 
State.  On  the  first  day  of  February,  that  body  passed 
a  resolution  in  both  houses  ' '  to  elect  two  United  States 
Senators  for  the  State  of  Kansas,"  notwithstanding  the 
Territorial  life  had  expired.  But  there  was  opposition 
enough  to  "  make  things  lively."  The  Pro-Slavery  ser- 
pent was  killed;  but  as  the  Irish  gentleman  remarked, 
as  its  tail  wiggled, ' '  it  was  not  sensible  of  it,"  and  every 
possible  dilatory  motion  was  made  to  keep  a  dispatch 
from  going  abroad,  that  "Lane  was  elected."  They 
whooped,  they  howled,  they  screeched,  they  danced — 
and  Lane's  friends  laughed,  and  "  mocked  at  their  ca- 
lamities"— while  his  opponents  even  brought  into  the 
hall  a  noted  Pro-Slavery  vocalist  to  sing  Dixie,  and  he 
was  ever  after  known  as  "  Dixie  Morrow."  The  second 
day  of  February,  they  adjourned  without  getting  a  vote  ; 
but  it  had  accomplished  its  purpose— demonstrated  the 
power  and  popularity  of  the  great  Free-State  leader,  alike 


LINCOLN'S  FIRST  KANSAS  APPOINTMENTS.         221 

in  peace  and  in  war.  His  plans,  communicated  to  me, 
were  to  get  this  election  by  the  Territorial  Legislature  in 
anticipation  of  an  interregnum  of  a  month  or  more  be- 
tween the  election  by  that  body  and  the  meeting  of  the 
State  Legislature,  and  in  the  meantime  to  go  to  Wash- 
ington with  the  prestige  of  two  elections  to  the  Senate — 
one  by  the  legislature  under  the  Topeka  Constitution, 
and  the  other  by  the  Territorial  Legislature — and  thus 
equipped,  to  control  more  effectually  the  patronage  of 
the  National  administration,  or  at  least  to  prevent  any 
appointment  awaiting  the  election  of  United  States  Sen- 
ators, who  always  controlled  the  patronage  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  member  of  the  House.  This  action  he  had 
already  preceded  by  an  agreement  with  Hon.  Martin  F. 
Conway,  our  Congressman-elect,  who  would  be  in  his 
seat  on  the  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln,  that  all 
Kansas  appointments  should  await  the  election  of  our 
Senators.  This  agreement  was  faithfully  carried  out  by 
Mr.  Conway,  and  recognized  by  the  President,  with  the 
exception  of  Hon.  Archibald  Williams,  of  Illinois,  who, 
on  the  8th  of  March,  was  appointed  United  States  Judge, 
with  Hon.  James  L.  McDowell  as  United  States  Marshal, 
both  being  indispensable  appointments,  the  Territorial 
judiciary  expiring  with  that  government.  The  appoint- 
ment of  Judge  Williams  bewildered  all  the  politicians ; 
but  their  eyes  were  soon  opened,  when  it  was  ascertained 
that  he  was  a  bosom  friend  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  his 
appointment  had  no  political  significance  to  Kansas  pol- 
iticians. That  of  McDowell  was  no  surprise  to  Lane, 


222  A    QUICK    CAMPAIGN. 

though  he  had  maintained  rather  a  neutral  position  in 
the  Senatorial  contest.  It  may  be  stated,  however,  as  a 
remarkable  fact,  that  Lane  got  the  information  while 
McDowell  was  at  Lawrence  in  doubt  of  his  own  success, 
and  told  me  of  it,  with  the  confidential  admonition,  "  Let 
him  go  home  and  find  it  out. "  Thus  were  all  his  ' '  fences 
repaired,"  and  no  bars  left  down. 

As  the  Legislature  had  been  elected  a  year  and  a  half 
before  it  was  called  to  meet,  there  were  several  vacancies 
to  be  filled,  all  of  which  Lane  carried ;  but  they  were 
hotly  contested,  and  claimed  as  tests  of  the  voice  of  the 
people. 

The  election  in  Douglas  and  Johnson  counties  was  an 
extraordinary  struggle  ;  and  not  a  precinct  was  omitted 
where  Lane  did  not  speak,  except  at  Lawrence.  As  a 
"blind"  he  was  announced  for  Lawrence  the  night  be- 
fore election — notifying  me,  however,  that  he  would  not 
be  there,  as  he  must  speak  in  Lykins  (now  Miami) 
county  the  second  night  before  election,  and  then  speak 
throughout  Linn  and  Bourbon  the  day  before  election, 
which  he  did,  making  a  ride  of  sixty  miles,  and  speak- 
ing four  times,  finishing  up  in  Bourbon,  in  favor  of  his 

friend,  Dr.  W.  W.  Updegraff,  who  was  elected  over 

Miller,  Democrat,  by  a  majority  of  165,  but  the  former's 
seat  was  contested  to  keep  him  out  of  the  Speaker's 
chair,  to  which  he  was,  nevertheless,  elected  on  the  first 
ballot.  The  failure  of  Lane  to  speak  at  Lawrence  that 
night  lost  us  many  votes  ;  but  we  had  them  to  spare,  and 
his  absence  was  a  necessity.  His  opponents  "never 


PASSED    UNANIMOUSLY.  223 

knew  what  hurt  them  ' '  till  the  votes  were  counted.     But 

• 

the  goal  of  his  ambition  had  not  been  reached,  and  we 
turn  back  in  the  campaign  for  the  Senate. 

There  was  rarely  a  nominating  convention  where  he 
did  not  appear  and  make  a  speech,  and  he  never  lacked 
a  preamble  and  resolutions.  He  would  go  to  a  place 
where  they  were  about  resolved  to  hang  him,  and  come 
back  with  Lane  for  the  Senate  inserted  in  their  resolu- 
tions. After  the  election  of  members  of  the  Legislature, 
he  kept  up  his  campaign  just  the  same  way.  One  man 
who  called  him  a  leper  was  met  by  him  at  an  assembly, 
where  he  scowled  at  Lane  as  if  he  was  ready  to  assault 
him .  He  inquired  pleasantly  about  his  affairs ,  and  then 
arose,  and  suavely  said:  "  Mr.  President — I  move  you, 
if  I  can  meet  with  a  second,  [at  least  a  dozen  men  sec- 
onded the  motion  before  they  heard  it,]  that  our  distin- 
guished fellow-citizen,  Mr.  J.  0.,  be  made  chairman  of 
this  meeting."  The  motion  carried  with  great  applause 
in  favor  of  his  ' '  enemy  ; ' '  and  then  Lane  handed  him  a 
list  of  men  he  thought  would  be  suitable  to  prepare  reso- 
lutions ;  and  he  also  gave  the  chairman  of  the  committee 
the  suitable  resolutions,  which  passed,  without  opposi- 
tion, in  favor  of  Lane  for  Senator.  It  was  no  trick  at  all 
for  him  to  go  to  a  convention  where  there  was  a  member- 
elect  whom  his  opponents  placed  in  the  anti-Lane  col- 
umn, and  come  back  with  a  report  like  this:  "Hon. 
P.  M.  Alexander  was  elected  president,  and  after  some 
appropriate  remarks  by  the  chair,  the  following  resolu- 
tion was  passed  unanimously : 


A    PLAN    TO    BUY    A    NEWSPAPER. 

Resolved,  That  we  have  great  confidence  in  the  ability,  integrity 
and  patriotism  of  Gen.  James  H.  Lane,  and  earnestly  recommend  his 
election  to  the  United  States  Senate. 

This  is  the  identical  resolution  offered  by  a  member 
from  Douglas  county  who  had  up  to  that  very  day  been 
denouncing  him  as  unworthy  of  confidence  ;  but  after 
hearing  his  speech,  became  his  warmest  friend. 

That  was  perhaps  the  most  earnest  campaign  ever 
"fought  over"  in  Kansas.  I  bought  a  newspaper  for 
the  campaign  for  $3,500.  Neither  Lane  nor  I  had  a  dol- 
lar ;  but  I  told  him  I  must  have  $500  to  pay  the  hands, 
to  keep  them  from  striking  before  the  Senatorial  elec- 
tion. He  went  to  Leavenworth  to  raise  it ;  and  the  late 
Judge  Delahay  told  me  how  he  got  it,  thus  :  "Christmas 
night,  at  12  o'clock,  a  rap  was  at  my  door.  I  put  out 
my  head,  and  the  wind  blew  so  hard  and  the  snow  flew 
so  thick  I  could  see  nothing.  'Who's  there?'  said  I, 
'  and  what  do  you  want  such  a  night  as  this  ? '  '  Lane  ; 
come  down.'  I  came.  'Are  you  crazy,  Lane?'  said  I. 
'No.  Speer  has  bought  the  Lawrence  Republican.' 
'That  is  good.  But  what  of  it?'  'He  wants  $500,  to 
keep  the  hands  from  striking  till  the  paper  can  earn 
something.'  'Now  I  know  you  are  crazy.  Neither  of 
us  can  raise  a  dollar.'  'I  have  a  plan,  Mark.  You 
know  these  Fort  Leavenworth  officers  never  bought  a 
bushel  of  corn  from  a  Free-State  man.  You  go  to  the 
Fort,  and  tell  them  that  your  cousin,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
wants  you  to  go  to  Springfield,  and  you  may  have  to  go 
to  Washington,  and  you  want  to  sell  them  $500  worth 


ALL    THE    MULES    BRAYING    FOR   CORN.  225 

of  corn.  Ham.  Johnson  has  the  corn.  Tell  them  that, 
Mark,  and  you  will  think  that  every  mule  around  the 
Fort  is  braying  for  corn.'  I  told  the  story,  and  I  had  a 
check  for  $500  before  I  told  them  where  to  find  the  corn." 

This  was  no  deception  ;  for  that  was  the  relationship  ; 
and  the  great  man  was  entertained  by  Judge  Delahay, 
when  he  visited  Kansas,  and  he  had  absolutely  invited 
him,  and  asked  his  advice.  It  illustrates  the  quick- 
witted shrewdness  of  Lane. 

The  next  day,  Lane  and  H.  P.  Johnson  walked  from 
Leavenworth  to  Lawrence  (35  miles)  and  brought  the 
money  ;  and,  as  a  consequence,  Johnson's  brother-in-law, 
Col.  Nicholas  Smith,  who  afterwards  married  Horace 
Greeley's  daughter,  became  my  partner,  and  it  was  soon 
rumored  that  there  was  a  Lane  paper  in  town.  About 
that  time,  Col.  D.  R.  Anthony  and  D.  W.  Wilder  sprang 
up  with  the  Daily  Conservative  at  Leavenworth,  favor- 
ing Lane — and  there  was  music  in  the  air,  and  howling 
in  the  Anti-Lane  camp  ! 

This  illustrates  his  judgment  of  men.  On  the  eve  of 
the  Senatorial  election,  two  of  his  staunch  friends,  Hon. 
Chester  Thomas  and  Dr.  Gilpatrick,  were  almost  his 
constant  companions,  their  conceptions  quick,  and  their 
judgments  clear.  They  would  caucus  and  consult  and 
plan  in  Lane's  office  till  3  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
then  sleep  on  the  floor  till  daylight,  and  go  at  it  again. 
Capt.  Charles  F.  Garrett  is  authority  for  the  story,  that, 
once,  when  Lane  walked  to  Leavenworth,  and  returning, 
could  not  cross  the  Kansas  river  for  the  ice,  he  had  a 


226  GARVEY 's  HOSPITALITY. 

campfire  on  the  north  side  and  Thomas  and  Gilpatrick 
had  one  on  the  south  side,  and  they  were  holding  a 
caucus.  I  failed  to  attend;  but  if  Hon.  J.  C.  Burnett 
was  not  there,  he  was  singularly  neglectful  of  his  duties. 
Mr.  C.  A.  Faris,  well-known  as  a  distinguished  printer, 
tells  this  story  of  an  episode  in  Lane's  struggles,  which 
he  witnessed  himself,  and  is  so  absolutely  true  as  to  need 
no  embellishment.  Early  in  1855,  there  settled  in  To- 
peka  a  whole-souled  Irishman,  Hon.  E.  C.  K.  Garvey. 
He  was  a  Democrat,  and  an  ardent  Free-State  man.  He 
built  a  hotel ;  but  his  devotion  to  the  Free-State  cause 
made  it  a  home  of  hospitality,  and  everybody  was  made 
welcome.  Lane  got  in  debt  to  him,  and  Garvey  was 
hard  pressed  for  means.  He  came  to  Lawrence,  deter- 
mined that  Lane  must  pay  him.  The  two  met  on  Mas- 
sachusetts street ;  and  Garvey,  flushed  with  anger  at  his 
wrongs  and  in  his  forbearance,  demanded  the  money, 
expostulating  over  his  injustice.  It  was  a  shivery  day  \ 
and  just  then,  Lane's  little  boy  appeared  in  his  bare  feet, 
when  Lane  appealingly,  in  good-nature,  said :  "  Mr. 
Garvey,  do  you  suppose,  that,  if  I  had  two  dollars  in  the 
world,  I  would  pay  it  to  you  before  I  bought  that  boy  a 
pair  of  shoes  ?"  Garvey  thrust  his  hand  in  his  pocket, 
handed  Lane  two  dollars,  demanded  that  he  should  take 
it,  and  saying,  "  If  I  get  worse  off  than  you  are,  pay  me 
when  you  can,"  and  returned  to  Topeka. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ELECTED    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES    SENATE. 

The  State  admitted  into  the  Union  when  Lane  was  so 
poor  that  he  was  refused  credit  for  a  loaf  of  bread  in 
Lawrence,  and  was  as  ragged  as  Diogenes,  he  accepted 
a  ride  to  Topeka  in  a  neighbor's  farm  wagon  with  but 
twenty  dollars  in  his  pocket,  took  rooms  at  the  Topeka 
Hotel,  and  opened  his  campaign ;  and  when  his  assail- 
ants made  an  attempt  to  get  the  landlord  to  turn  him 
out,  assuring  him  that  he  would  be  defeated,  and  there- 
fore would  never  be  able  to  pay,  he  coolly  remarked  that 
he  believed  he  could  "  move  into  a  store  box  on  Kansas 
avenue,  and  get  ahead  of  the  hounds."  He  returned  to 
the  scenes  of  his  poverty,  his  beloved  Lawrence,  which 
he  had  done  so  much  to  defend,  a  United  States  Senator. 

There  probably  never  has  been  such  a  struggle  in  the 
history  of  Senatorial  elections.  Senators  have  been 
chosen,  who  have  apparently  made  no  effort  for  them- 
selves ;  but  such  has  not  been  the  custom  in  the  Western 
States.  It  was  intellect  against  intellect,  and  strategy 
against  strategy.  From  the  time  of  the  adjournment  of 
the  Territorial  Legislature,  February  2,  1861,  till  the 


228          A    SIGNIFICANT    STRUGGLE    FOR    ASCENDENCY. 

day  appointed  by  the  Governor  for  the  assembling  of  the 
State  Legislature,  March  26,  there  was  no  rest  for  any  of 
the  aspirants.  There  were  vacancies  to  fill  in  the  House, 
as  has  heretofore  been  referred  to,  in  the  Eighth,  Tenth, 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth  districts.  In  the  Third  Senatorial 
district,  Samuel  Lappin  (afterwards  State  Treasurer) 
was  elected  to  fill  a  vacancy.  There  had  been  an  under- 
standing between  Gen.  Lane  and  Hon.  Marcus  J.  Par- 
rott,  that  they  were,  as  far  as  possible,  to  combine  their 
forces.  In  that  district,  where  Parrott  was  especially 
relied  upon  to  work  to  that  end,  he  utterly  failed,  or  else 
was  untrue  to  his  pledges ;  for  Senator  Lappin  was  & 
most  uncompromising  opponent  of  Lane.  In  the  Eighth 
district,  composed  of  Johnson  and  Douglas  counties, 
Rev.  Werter  R.  Davis,  a  warm  friend  of  Lane,  had 
pledged  himself  publicly  and  unequivocally  for  Parrott. 
It  was  the  home  of  Lane,  and  a  vigilant,  earnest,  despe- 
rate campaign  was  made  in  that  district,  electing  Davis 
by  a  significant  majority  over  his  opponent,  L.  L.  Jones, 
a  brilliant  speaker,  an  able  man,  but  considered  a  little 
presumptuous  in  being  a  candidate  in  less  than  a  six- 
months'  residence.  Davis  was  also  an  able  speaker,  a 
Methodist  preacher.  There  were  ten  representatives  and 
three  senators  in  this  district,  and  it  was  well  understood 
that  both  parties  would  regard  the  election  as  instruc- 
tions for  or  against  Lane  to  the  whole  membership  of  the 
district.  S.  C.  Pomeroy  and  F.  P.  Stan  ton  were  pitted 
against  Lane  and  Parrott,  though  afterwards,  on  account 
of  Parrott' s  failure  to  effect  his  part  of  the  understand- 


THE    DOCUMENT    THAT    DID    IT.  229 

ing,  and  considerable  unexpected  opposition  being  devel- 
oped against  Pomeroy,  an  adroit  union  was  secretly 
formed  against  Lane  and  Pomeroy.  On  the  first  day  of 
April,  a  vote  was  taken  in  the  Senate  for  "a  Senator 
from  the  south  side  of  the  Kaw,"  Frederick  P.  Stanton 
leading,  and  Lane  receiving  only  nine  votes  out  of 
twenty-five.  We  were  then  not  operating  under  any 
law  of  the  United  States;  but  the  usual  way  was,  by 
vote  of  both  houses,  to  go  into  joint  ballot ;  and  in  sev- 
eral States,  the  failure  of  one  of  the  houses  to  vote  for  a 
joint  session  had  defeated  any  election.  This  was  what 
that  movement  meant — either  the  defeat  of  Lane  or  the 
defeat  of  any  election,  with  the  probabilities  against 
him.  It  was  a  surprise  to  Lane  and  his  friends,  and 
aroused  Pomeroy  also  to  the  danger  of  the  situation  ; 
and  in  the  dead  of  night,  in  a  private  house,  the  two 
statesmen  met,  and  effected  a  written  secret  organiza- 
tion, which  is  here  presented  for  the  first  time  : 

TOPEKA.  KANSAS,  April  1st,  1861. 

We,  the  undersigned  members  of  the  State  Senate,  do  hereby  agree 
to  vote  for  a  resolution  to  go  into  a  joint-convention  for  the  purpose 
of  electing  two  United  States  Senators,  or  agree  to  vote  to  concur  in 
any  such  resolution  coming  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  for 
the  same  purpose ;  and  also  agree  to  vote  for  such  resolutions  as  are 
necessary  to  attain  that  purpose.  J.  C.  BURNETT. 

JOSIAH  MII.I.KK.  WM.  SPRIGGS. 

H.  S.  SLEEPER.  P.  P.  ELDER. 

S.  D.  HOUSTON.  H.  W.  FARNSWORTH. 

T.  A.  OSBORN.  H.  N.  SEAVER. 

J.  A.   PHILLIPS.  JNO.  A.  MARTIN. 

JNO.  LOCKHART.  ED.  LVNDE. 


230  WHAT    THE    DOCUMENT    DID. 

The  signature  of  Senator  Lynde  is  in  the  handwriting 
of  Hon.  J.  C.  Burnett.  Mr.  Lynde  held  back  a  good 
while,  but  finally  authorized  Mr.  Burnett  to  sign  it,  and 
the  die  was  cast.  When  Mr.  Thomas  looked  the  list  all 
over,  he  laughed,  as  he  looked  at  Lynde' s  name,  and 
dryly  remarked,  "  Your  pivotal  man  was  a  little  too 
shakey,  but,  if  he  told  Burnett  to  sign  it,  he'll  swing 
'em  around  all  right." 

These  thirteen  Senators  stood  squarely  up  to  their 
pledges  on  every  trial  of  strength,  Chester  Thomas  on 
the  floor,  audibly  remarking,  "  Thirteen  is  more  than 
twelve,"  and  "  We'll  let  'em  know  that  thirteen  's  no 
unlucky  number;  they  can't  April  fool  us  any  more!" 
until  the  fourth  of  April,  when  they  came  to  a  final  trial, 
thus:  J.  H.  Lane,  55  ;  S.  C.  Pomeroy,  52;  Marcus  J 
Parrott,  49;  F.  P.  Stanton,  21;  M.  W.  Delahay,  2;  S. 
D.  Houston,  1;  S.  A.  Kingman,  3;  A.  J.  Isaacs,  11 ; 
M.  F.  Conway,  1. 

The  Lieutenant  Governor  announced  that  James  H. 
Lane  and  Samuel  C.  Pomeroy  were  elected  United  States 
Senators. 

The  voting  was  long  continued,  "  in  which  interval," 
says  Wilder' s  Annals,  "  Lane  fluctuated  between  45  and 
64,  Pomeroy  between  49  and  57,  and  Parrott  between  47 
and  60."  .  .  .  "  Fifty-eight  members  changed 
their  votes." 

Having  witnessed  the  voting,  and  all  the  numerous 
changes,  for  two  hours-,  we  doubt  whether  the  whole  vote 
could  have  been  accurately  counted  in  that  way ;  and  it 


THE  PEOPLE'S  MAN'S  CAPITAL.  231 

was  always  insisted  by  many  of  Parrott's  friends,  that  lie 
was  "  counted  out, "  though  no  doubt  was  ever  expressed 
as  to  the  election  of  Lane. 

Taking  all  the  circumstances  into  consideration ,  it  was 
a  most  wonderful  triumph  of  oratory,  genius,  courage 
and  good  management. 

The  effort  to  get  him  out  of  his  hotel  was  an  embar- 
rassing situation.  Mr.  Stewart,  the  landlord,  was  his 
particular,  earnest,  substantial  friend ;  but  the  normal 
condition  of  all  Kansas  was  poverty,  and  the  landlord 
was  hardly  an  exception  to  the  rule.  Whether  Lane 
had  paid  him  a  cent  I  do  not  know ;  but  certain  it  is 
that  his  whole  capital  was  twenty  dollars.  Mr.  Henry 
Brown,  of  the  firm  of  Duncan  &  Brown,  from  whom  he 
borrowed  it,  says  it  was  thirty  dollars  ;  but  if  so,  he  must 
have  given  his  family  ten  for  their  necessities.  When 
this  report  came  to  Col.  John  Ritchie,  he  went  out  vol- 
untarily, and  raised  him  twenty  or  thirty  dollars  more  ; 
and  Mr.  Bassett,  the  singing  master,  went  to  Lawrence, 
twenty-five  miles,  and  came  back  with  a  similar  amount 
— and,  when  I  asked  him  how  he  got  it,  he  gruffly  re- 
plied, "  Took  my  own." 

Wesley  H.  Duncan  and  Charles  S.  Duncan,  a  couple 
of  Virginia  Democrats,  whose  parents  were  slaveholders, 
became  great  friends  of  Lane,  and  did  him  many  good 
services. 

In  this  crisis,  many  friends,  in  and  out  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, stood  manfully  by  him.  No  attempt  to  enumerate 
them  could  do  equal  justice.  No  man  in  the  history  of 


232  GRATITUDE    TO    A    NOBLE    FRIEND. 

Kansas  had  such  warm,  devoted  friends  among  the 
people,  and  no  man  aroused  such  antagonism  among 
corrupt,  ambitious,  trading,  trickstering  politicians  as 
were  aroused  by  Lane. 

As  we  think  of  Lane's  friends,  our  memory  runs  back 
to  the  gallant  Col.  S.  S.  Prouty.  He  dropped  his  com- 
posing stick  in  a  Chicago  printing  office,  and  followed 
him  on  foot,  his  knapsack  on  his  back,  through  Iowa, 
Nebraska  and  Kansas  to  Prairie  City,  where  he  estab- 
lished a  newspaper,  ably  supporting  him  ;  thence  onward 
he  moved  to  the  Neosho  valley,  where  he  became  a  leader 
in  journalism.  "  Jim  Lane  forget  his  friends  !"  Let  us 
tell.  The  war  was  raging.  Prouty  and  Lane  and  I  sat 
in  his  parlor  on  F  street,  Washington.  He  says,  "  Ex- 
cuse me,  gentlemen  ;  I  have  business  at  the  War  Depart- 
ment." Perfunctorily,  we  walked  with  him  a  block, 
one  on  each  side,  during  which  he  said  he  was  going  to 
the  Department  to  have  Mr.  Findlay,  of  Lawrence,  made 
a  quartermaster.  I  left  him  ;  Prouty  walked  on,  and  as 
he  entered  the  office,  Prouty  says:  "  Why  cannot  you 
have  my  name  put  in  that  blank?"  "  I  can."  And  in 
it  went.  Findlay's  appointment  was  delayed ;  but  not 
forgotten. 

Let  us  turn  back.  Not  a  week  after  his  election,  the 
affairs  of  love  come  in  ;  and  I  was  invited  to  the  wed- 
ding of  his  accomplished  and  beautiful  daughter,  Miss 
Ella,  to  Col.  Charles  W.  Adams.  It  was  a  very  humble 
wedding  in  a  very  humble  pioneer  cabin.  Only  a  few 
were  invited,  his  personal  friends  in  the  campaign  ;  and, 


WE    WILL    SEE    WHAT    HE    DID. 


233 


as  I  remember,  when  I  entered,  there  sat  Josiah  Miller, 
J.  C.  Burnett,  Frank  Adams,  J.  H.  Shimmons,  Sidney 
Clarke  and  one  or  two  others,  looking  so  much  like  a 
Lane  meeting,  that  I  inquired  of  Judge  Miller  when  the 
caucus  would  begin  !  Lane  said  they  could  afford  no 
wedding  festival,  but  he  wanted  a  few  friends  to  witness 
the  ceremony  and  have  a  parting  word  with  them  before 
he  left  for  Washington. 

As  he  started  to  the  capital,  with  his  commission  as 
Senator,  and  a  very  small  amount  of 
money,  which  he  had  borrowed,  se- 
curing  its  payment  by  an  insurance 

on  his  life>  anc^  an  order  in  advance 
on  the  Sargeant-at-Arms  for  his  sal- 
ary as  Senator,  he  remarked,  "  Now, 
we  will  see  what  a  live  man  can  do  ;'  ' 
THE  SENATOR'S  CABIN,  and  his  power  with  the  President  and 
in  all  the  departments  was  soon  painfully  apparent  to 
his  antagonists,  and  it  became  a  stock  phrase  with  them, 
that  "  it  was  strange  and  unaccountable  that  he  should 
have  such  power  with  such  a  man  as  Lincoln." 

Going  to  Washington  at  the  most  critical  period  in 
American  history,  when,  if  the  enemy  had  known  the 
weakness  of  the  city,  the  capital  and  all  its  archives 
and  all  its  treasures,  with  the  captivity  of  the  President 
himself,  would  have  been  an  easier  conquest  than  when 
the  British  captured  it  under  President  Madison,  we  will 
see  what  he  did  to  secure  the  gratitude  and  everlasting 
admiration  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

BIVOUAC    IN    THE    PRESIDENTIAL    MANSION. 

Just  before  President  Lincoln  started  to  Washington 
to  assume  the  Presidential  chair,  Gen.  Lane  tendered 
him  a  body  guard  of  Kansas  men,  to  be  led  by  himself, 
to  escort  the  President  to  the  national  capital,  which  the 
good  man,  conscious  of  his  own  patriotism  and  human- 
ity, politely  declined  to  accept,  expressing  his  firm  belief 
in  the  loyalty  of  the  American  people.  The  result  was 
that  he  narrowly  escaped  assassination  at  Baltimore,  and 
was  submitted  to  the  humiliation  of  traveling  in  dis- 
guise. 

What  the  result  might  have  been,  had  the  President 
accepted  this  proposition,  no  man  can  conjecture.  The 
opponents  of  Lane,  or  many  of  them,  have  labored  to 
prove  him  a  reckless  man,  devoid  of  all  prudence.  Never 
was  there  a  more  mistaken  idea  of  any  man.  That  was 
not  a  characteristic  of  him  in  the  Mexican  war  when  he 
was  a  young  man  ;  and  he  had  greatly  profited  by  expe- 
rience since  that  period.  We  practically  had  had  war  in 
Kansas  from  1855  till  1861 — six  years — and  no  mistakes 
of  that  kind  were  made.  To  a  young,  active  Free-State 


A    VOLUNTEER    ESCORT.  235 

man  of  his  command,  anxious  for  a  fight  as  John  Brown 
ever  was,  he  said:  "You  are  always  wanting  to  kill 
somebody.  What  we  want  to  do,  is  to  make  Kansas  a 
Free  State,  and  kill  nobody.  And  the  way  to  do  that  is 
to  be  always  ready  to  fight,  if  unavoidable  or  neces- 
sary." In  the  six  years  of  practical  war  in  Kansas  be- 
fore the  war  for  the  Union  began,  he  had  the  most  exact 
knowledge  of  his  men  and  all  their  characteristics.  He 
knew  whom  to  trust  and  whom  to  avoid. 

In  his  offer  of  a  guard  to  the  President,  his  plans  were 
for  an  organization  of  men,  who  should  appear  at  dif- 
ferent points,  as  if  they  were  passengers,  getting  upon 
the  trains  about  in  the  regular  manner,  some  going  to 
witness  the  inauguration,  some  for  one  purpose  and 
some  for  another,  none  of  them  armed,  but  all  ready  to 
be  armed,  the  arms  within  reach,  and  ready  to  use  them. 

"All  is  well  that  ends  well;"  and  the  prudent  escape 
of  the  President  from  assassination  at  Baltimore  has 
gone  into  history.  There  is  every  probability  that,  if  he 
had  been  with  the  President,  as  he  contemplated,  and 
an  attack  had  been  made,  the  scene  would  have  been 
altogether  different  from  that  which  occurred  when  the 
first  Massachusetts  troops  were  assaulted  at  Baltimore 
and  several  killed.  At  the  very  first  demonstration,  af- 
ter the  mob  had  wounded  a  single  man,  the  killing  would 
have  been  of  the  mob,  and  the  first  battle  of  the  war 
would  have  been  fought  right  then  and  there  ;  and  lurid 
flames  of  Baltimore  might  have  lighted  the  scene.  But 
it  is  useless  to  speculate  on  "  what  might  have  been." 


236  MARCHES    INTO    THE    WHITE    HOUSE. 

Going  to  Washington  at  a  time  when  the  assassina- 
tion of  the  President  was  still  imminent,  and  a  general 
assault  upon  the  city  probable,  President  Lincoln,  with 
the  utmost  confidence  in  Lane's  heroism,  loyalty  and 
judgment,  accepted  his  services  with  one  hundred  and 
sixty  of  his  chosen  men,  principally  from  Kansas,  and 
he  bivouacked  in  the  famous  East  Room  of  the  Presi- 
dential Mansion.  This  was  the  beginning  of  that  inti- 
mate friendship  which  was  never  broken  between  the 
two  except  by  the  dissevering  chords  of  death.  There 
was  no  ingratitude  in  Lincoln ;  and  if  he  erred  at  all,  it 
was  in  the  plenitude  of  his  gratitude  for  the  man  who 
had  boldly  thrown  himself  upon  the  threshold  against 
harm  to  the  Nation's  chief. 

The  following  from  Hon.  Cassius  M.  Clay  will  be 
interesting : 

WHITE  HALL,  KY.,  Dec.  12,  18W. 
MR.  JOHN  SPEBR,  Lawrence,  Kansas : 

DEAR  SIR — Your  favor  of  the  3d  inst.  received.  James  H.  Lane 
raised  a  company  of  military  in  Washington  in  1861.  Soon  after,  I 
did  the  same  in  Willard's  old  theater.  When  the  commands  met,  I 
was  chosen  major,  and  companies  were  consolidated.  I  was  at  the 
defense  of  the  Long  Bridge,  under  my  command. 

Yours  truly, 

C.  M.  CLAY. 

The  two  organizations  were  distinct  and  separate 
until  after  Lane  was  authorized  to  discharge  his  men. 
There  were  two  places  of  great  danger — the  President's 
Mansion  and  the  Long  Bridge.  When  Clay  started  with 
his  command  for  the  bridge,  a  great  crowd  of  rebels  fol- 


A    VOICE    WORTH    A    THOUSAND    MKN.  237 

lowed,  hooting  and  yelling  and  crowding,  until  the  in- 
sults became  unbearable  ;  when ,  suddenly,  he  gave  the 
command:  "Halt!  about — face!  ready!"  He  did  not 
have  to  give  the  command  to  "aim."  There  was  no- 
body to  aim  at.  That  voice  of  Clay's  was  worth  a 
thousand  men.  For  those  services,  he  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  Major  General,  the  first  man  ever  promoted 
from  the  ranks  to  that  position. 

Hon.  William  Hutchinson,  one  of  the  guard  and  one 
of  the  framers  of  our  present  State  Constitution,  has  sent 
us  the  following,  clipped  from  the  Washington  Daily 
Chronicle  about  twenty  years  ago,  without  any  credit, 
except  that  it  was  from  a  Kansas  paper,  and  Mr.  Hutch- 
inson thinks  it  was  written  by  me  ;  but  I  am  unable  to 
identify  it.  At  any  rate,  the  facts  are  there  : 

AN    INCIDENT    OF    THE    WAR. 

When  Senator  Cameron  is  pressing  a  measure  for 
special  recognition  of  services  rendered  the  Nation  by 
the  troops  that  first  reached  the  capital  in  its  defense, 
he  should  include  an  organization  of  men  that  sprang  to 
arms  in  the  national  capital,  at  his  request,  before  it  was 
possible  for  troops  to  reach  there  from  any  of  the  States. 
We  allude  to  the  company  of  Western  men,  mostly  Kan- 
sans,  who  formed  themselves  into  a  company  known  as 
the  Frontier  Guards,  under  the  captaincy  of  Gen.  James 
H.  Lane,  then  a  United  States  Senator.  This  company 
numbered  nearly  two  hundred  men,  most  of  whom  had 
seen  service  in  Kansas,  and  under  the  leadership  of 


238  SCENE    FOR    A    MASTERPIECE. 

Lane,  at  that  critical  period,  inspired  a  wholesome  terror 
among  the  then  rampant  secessionists  who  were  over- 
awing everybody  on  the  streets  of  Washington.  Their 
presence,  no  doubt,  prevented  an  attempt,  then  well 
understood  to  be  organized  for  the  purpose  of  capturing 
the  President,  and  overturning  the  government  by  a 
coup  d'etat  in  Washington  city. 

The  ex-Secretary  will  no  doubt  remember  the  intense 
anxiety  for  the  safety  of  the  President  that  pervaded 
officials,  indeed  all  loyal  citizens,  when  Major  David 
Hunter,  since  Major  General  Hunter,  was  sent  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  Frontier  Guards,  at  Willard's,  late 
on  the  night  of  April  16,  186] ,  with  the  request  from  the 
Secretary  of  War,  that  Gen.  Lane  should  report  with  his 
company  at  once  for  duty  at  the  President's  house  ;  how 
that  company,  one  hundred  and  eighty  strong,  within 
half  an  hour  from  that  time,  filed  into  the  East  Room  of 
the  White  House,  threw  out  pickets  in  every  direction, 
and  bivouacked  that  night  in  the  President's  mansion. 

The  ex-Secretary  will  doubtless  remember  that  histor- 
ical scene,  when,  about  midnight,  the  President  and 
Secretary,  arm  in  arm,  appeared  at  the  great  entrance 
door  of  the  East  Room,  and  looked  in  upon  that  strange 
spectacle  of  an  armed  force  camping  in  the  dwelling  of 
the  President. 

If  the  Secretary  is  as  close  an  observer  as  we  take  him 
to  be,  he  has  not  forgotten  the  strange,  sad  expression 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  face,  as,  in  looking  upon  that  scene,  he 
seemed  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the^terrible  struggle  just 


MEDALS    SUGGESTED.  239 

« 

then  coming  on,  and  of  which  he  was  to  be  the  great 
central  figure.  That  was  an  occasion  for  a  masterpiece, 
and  we  wonder  that  the  pencil  of  some  great  artist  has 
not  caught  and  put  on  canvas  that  first  great  picture  of 
the  war. 

That  company  was  on  duty  for  several  weeks,  and 
never  received  or  asked  for  any  compensation,  and 
doubtless  would  refuse  a  money  consideration  now  ;  for 
that  was  given  voluntarily  and  freely  as  a  patriotic  ser- 
vice to  the  Republic  in  a  time  of  great  peril.  But  if 
medals  are  to  be  awarded  to  the  volunteers  who  first 
arrived  to  succor  the  capital,  why  not  include  these  men? 

This  excerpt,  its  paternity  in  doubt,  but  which  J  adopt , 
makes  a  wise  suggestion,  which  ought  to  be  adopted  even 
now. 

With  his  proverbial  care  for  the  honor  of  his  soldiers, 
Gen.  Lane  saw  that  these  brave  men  were  honorably 
discharged  from  a  service  which  has  no  parallel  in  the 
history  of  the  country  ;  and  we  are  fortunate  in  being 
able  to  produce  in  reduced  fac-simile  a  copy  in  which 
two  of  the  relatives  of  President  Lincoln  are  honored — 
Hon.  Mark  W.  Delahay,  and  Hon.  Clark  J.  Hanks,  the 
latter  a  nephew  of  the  man  who  assisted  Lincoln  in 
"mauling"  the  rails  which  were  so  triumphantly  car- 
ried into  the  Chicago  convention  when  Lincoln  was 
nominated  for  the  Presidency. 

Hon.  Charles  H.  Holmes,  one  of  the  guard  and  after- 
wards Secretary  of  New  Mexico,  informs  me  that  Lane 
sent  him  with  a  squad  of  men  to  capture  Col.  Robert  E. 


DISCHARGE  OF  FRONTIER  GUARD. 


PARTIAL    LIST    OF    THE    GUARD.  241 

Lee,  but  he  had  escaped  for  Richmond  before  the  squad 
reached  Arlington. 

This  being  an  impromptu  voluntary  enlistment,  we 
find,  after  diligent  search,  that  no  roster  seems  to  have 
been  preserved  in  the  War  Department ;  and  we  are  now 
only  able  to  give  the  following  names  :  Harry  C.  Fields, 
Marcus  J.  Parrott,  D.  R.  Anthony,  Mark  W.  Delahay, 
Clark  J.  Hanks,  Job  S.  Stockton,  Thomas  Ewing,  jr., 
J.  C.  Vaughan  and  A.  Carter  Wilder,  of  Leavenworth  ; 
William  Hutchinson,  Sidney  Clarke  and  James  H. 
Holmes,  of  Lawrence  ;  Chester  Thomas,  of  Topeka  ;  Da- 
vid Gardner,  now  an  officer  in  United  States  army  at 
Fort  Myer,  D.  C.  ;  Thomas  D.  Bancroft,  student  at 
Genesee  College,  N.  Y.  ;  Charles  Ho  wells,  brother  of 
the  distinguished  author. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

GEN.  DENVER'S  KANSAS  CAMPAIGN. 

After  Gov.  Denver's  dismal  failure  to  establish  slavery 
in  Kansas,  we  supposed  he  was  lost  forever.  He  was 
the  eighth  or  ninth  Governor,  and  when  he  left  in  1859, 
Gen.  Lane  and  his  men  had,  speaking  politically,  as 
completely  slaughtered  them  all  as  Joshua  slaughtered 
the  "  one  and  thirty  kings,"  whom  he  "  smote  from  Baal- 
gad  in  the  valley  of  Lebanon  even  unto  the  mount  Ha- 
lak."  But  Denver  came  back  as  a  Brigadier  General  in 
November,  1862.  The  reporters  did  not  annoy  him  by 
jostling  him  in  his  marquee,  for  reports  of  his  battles,  or 
his  schemes  of  war ;  nor  did  the  camp-followers  get  on 
his  trail  as  birds  of  prey  ;  even  the  sutler  lost  trace. 
Fortunately,  he  has  preserved  the  history  of  his  own 
campaign ,  and  it  may  be  read  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
State  Historical  Society,  1886,  Part  I,  page  173;  and 
the  gist  of  it  is  like  this  ;  "I  did  report  to  Gen.  Hunter 
at  Fort  Leavenworth  for  duty.  He  looked  at  my  order 
and  said  :  '  Very  well ;  I  will  just  put  you  in  command 
of  all  the  troops  in  Kansas.'  '  Well,'  said  I,  '  General, 
what  are  the  troops,  and  where  are  they?'  Said  he,  'I 


HIS    LAST    INSULT   TO    KANSAS.  '-Mi! 

don't  know  any  thing  about  them.  You  must  find  them 
the  best  way  you  can.'  Well,  I  soon  found  that  he  was 
much  disgusted  about  something."  That  report  beats 
Caesar's  famous  dispatch,  "  Veni,  vidi,  vici,"  in  brevity  ; 
for  Caesar  only  described  a  battle,  while  Denver  de- 
scribed a  whole  campaign.  We  sent  a  tracer  after  him 
by  that  vade  mecum  of  literature  and  multum  in  parvo 
of  history,  Wilder 's  Annals,  and  it  reads  thus:  "No- 
vember 30,  1861,  Gen.  James  W.  Denver  ordered  to 
report  at  Fort  Scott.  .  .  .  March  15,  1862,  Gen. 
Denver  ordered  to  take  command  in  Kansas."  That  is 
all.  If  he  ever  hurt  a  rebel  in  Kansas,  the  rebel  might 
have  retorted  in  another  quotation  from  Caesar,  "  Et  tu, 
Brute?"  What  possessed  him  to  come  back  to  the  peo- 
ple whom  he  attempted  to  enslave,  and  of  whose  soldiery 
he  could  only  speak  in  contempt — he  couldn't  find  them, 
while  the  fighting  rebels  had  found  and  felt  them  on  a 
hundred  battle-fields — is  beyond  mortal  ken.  No  wonder 
if  the  soldiers'  salutation  was,  Veni,  vidi,  vamose  ! 

If  the  grim  explanation  of  Lane  was  unjust,  it  was  not 
unprovoked:  "It  was  a  trick  of  Lincoln,  to  keep  him 
out  of  mischief  by  allowing  him  to  draw  a  salary  in 
greenbacks  instead  of  Confederate  notes." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
DELAHAY'S  APPOINTMENT  AS  UNITED  STATES  JUDGE. 

Hon.  Mark  W.  Delahay  and  Lincoln  were  not  only 
boyhood  friends  and  companions,  but  relatives.  In  the 
days  of  the  President's  fame,  he  never  forgot  the  boy 
who  was  his  companion  in  his  poverty.  When  Mr.  Lin- 
coln visited  Kansas  in  December,  1859,  he  was  met  at 
St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  and  escorted  into  the  Territory  by 
Mr.  Delahay  and  Hon.  D.  W.  Wilder.  In  less  than  a 
month  after  the  President's  inauguration,  he  tendered 
to  Delahay  the  appointment  of  Surveyor  General  of  Kan- 
sas, which  he  accepted. 

Now  I  state  a  fact  in  the  President's  conduct  which 
has  never  seen  publicity.  All  familiar  with  the  affairs 
of  that  period,  will  remember  what  an  onslaught  was 
made  upon  Lane,  when  it  was  announced  that  Delahay 
had  resigned  the  office  of  Surveyor  General  to  accept 
that  of  United  States  District  Judge.  All  the  epithets 
of  the  English  language  were  hurled  at  Lane  and  Del- 
ahay. Among  Lane's  opponents,  man  after  man,  com- 
mittee after  committee,  every  man  that  had  a  title,  or  a 
public  reputation  as  a  leader,  was  sent  to  Washington  to 


LANE'S   DEVOTION  TO  LINCOLN.  245 

remonstrate  both  with  Lincoln  and  the  United  States- 
Senate  against  the,  outrage  alleged  to  have  been  perpe- 
trated by  Lane  in  misleading  the  President  and  in  his1 
attempt  to  further  impose  upon  the  Senate.  Lane  did 
not  ask  his  appointment  at  all,  nor  did  he  recommend 
nor  think  of  recommending  it.  The  facts  were  imparted 
to  me  in  confidence  at  the  time.  On  the  death  of  Lin- 
coln's special  friend,  Judge  Williams,  Lane  called  to  see 
the  President  and  condole  with  him.  As  he  was  about 
to  leave,  he  remarked  to  Mr.  Lincoln  that  it  would  be 
improper  so  soon  to  talk  about  a  successor,  but  before 
he  made  an  appointment  he  should  be  pleased  to  confer 
with  him.  Mr.  Lincoln  took  him  by  the  hand,  saying  he 
would  do  so,  but  still  holding  his  hand,  added  :  "  But  I 
think  it  will  take  a  very  good  man  to  beat  my  friend, 
Mark  W.  Delahay  for  that  office,  if  he  will  accept  it." 
That  was  enough.  Delahay  accepted  the  office,  and 
Lane  accepted  the  situation,  and  stood  as  firm  as  a  rock  ; 
not  for  his  own  choice,  but  for  the  President's.  And 
every  man,  and  every  committee,  and  every  official,  who 
went  to  the  President  to  assault  either  Lane  or  Delahay, 
only  offended  Lincoln,  and  cemented  the  bonds  of  friend- 
ship between  Lincoln  and  Lane.  The  President  told  a 
distinguished  Kansas  man  who  represented  that  Delahay 
was  no  lawyer,  that  he  (Lincoln)  knew  Delahay  was  a 
better  lawyer  than  he  was,  and  he  flattered  himself 
that  he  would  do  for  a  Kansas  Judge.  In  this  the  great 
man  was  probably  mistaken  ;  but  as  Delahay  and  Lin- 
coln commenced  life  together — the  one  with  good  oppor- 


246  KNEW    NOT    HIS    OWN    GREATNESS. 

tunities  and  quick  perception,  and  the  other  untutored 
and  in  poverty — it  was  probably  true  then  ;  but  Lincoln 
did  not  realize  that  he  had  outstripped  a  vast  majority 
of  jurists  and  statesmen. 


CHAPTEXR  XX. 

GEN.   LANE    ON    THE    VIGOROUS    PROSECUTION    OF    THE    WAR 
AND    ON    COLORED    TROOPS. 

Two  facts  must  be  recollected  in  Lanes 's  conduct  in 
his  command  : 

First :  That  he  had  never,  until  he  entered  Missouri 
under  the  flag  of  his  country,  crossed  the  imaginary  line 
of  that  State  in  enmity.  One  side  of  that  line  was  black 
with  the  curse  of  slavery — the  other,  had  been  made  reel 
with  the  blood  of  Freedom's  sons  ;  and  the  slavery  prop- 
aganda of  Missouri,  South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  other 
slave  States  had  invaded  Kansas,  not  only  fraudulently 
to  vote  away  the  rights  of  the  people,  but  by  violence  to 
drive  them  out  of  the  country.  The  question  in  Kansas 
might  have  been  peaceably  settled,  but  for  frauds  and 
violence  never  precedented. 

Second  :  It  is  an  undenied  fact,  that  there  never  was 
evidenc  shown  of  a  Kansas  man  voting  or  trying  to  vote 
in  the  State  of  Missouri,  or  of  any  organized  opposition 
against  her,  until  after  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sum- 
ter,  April  12,  1861.  Five  days  thereafter,  Gov.  Claib. 
Jackson  replied  to  the  President's  call  for  seventy-five 


248  KANSAS    WOULD    ONLY    SUSTAIN    THE    FLAG. 

thousand  troops  to  put  down  the  rebellion:  "Not  one 
man  will  the  State  of  Missouri  furnish  to  carry  on  such 
an  unholy  crusade." 

Prior  to  that,  men  had  been  tarred  and  feathered, 
bucked  and  gagged,  and  left  to  die  on  the  prairies, 
hacked  to  death  with  hatchets,  scalped  and  the  scalp 
carried  into  Leavenworth  on  a  pole  ;  raids  of  men  from 
Missouri  had  voted  without  residence,  by  thousands, 
and  afterwards,  as  less  expensive,  poll  lists  had  been 
forged  by  thousands  of  names,  copied  from  Cincinnati 
and  New  York  directories  ;  and  the  Missouri  river  block- 
aded against  loyal  Americans  and  the  American  flag. 

There  never  was  a  falsifier  so  collossal  as  to  pretend 
that  a  Kansas  man  had  ever  crossed  the  Kansas  line  to 
vote  or  assault  a  citizen  of  another  State  under  the  orders 
of  the  Union  to  uphold  the  American  flag ;  and  no  such 
pretence  is  made  now. 

Comparative  peace  had  prevailed  for  a  year — not  per- 
fect peace  in  all  our  borders  ;  but  we  were  able  to  carry 
our  own  elections  and  conduct  our  own  affairs. 

The  crisis  came  as  the  war  commenced.  We  were  but 
a  handful  compared  with  Missouri. 

We  naturally  looked  for  a  leader  ;  and  there  was  but 
one  in  full  sympathy  with  the  people — Lane.  He  was 
a  Senator — indisputably  anxious  for  military  honors, 
with  all  his  civic  promotions.  He  took  the  field,  as  did 
other  Senators.  He  was  beset  with  opposition,  and  the 
right  to  his  seat  disputed,  and  for  a  long  peried  he  was 
harrrssed  over  that ;  but  he  finally  triumhed  over  all. 


NO    GUARDS    FOR    SLAVES.  249 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  him  in  detail.  It  was 
soon  found  that  Kansas  soldiers  under  him  were  not  to 
be  put  on  guard  to  protect  the  institution  of  slavery. 
He  boldly  declared  that  he  would  not  lend  a  hand  to  the 
support  of  an  institution  which  had  attempted  the  over- 
throw of  every  right  of  his  adopted  State.  About  that 
time,  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  had  announced  his  cele- 
brated order  that  slaves  were  "contraband  of  war." 
Whether  he  followed  Butler  or  preceded  him  matters  not. 

The  regular  army  officer  was  very  frequently  a  cold- 
blooded conservative.  Life  officers  under  different  ad- 
ministrations, the  teachings  of  the  governments  of  each 
administration  were  inherited,  and  many  of  them  were 
taught  the  doctrines  of  Hayne,  Alexander  Stephens  and 
McDuffey,  that  slavery  was  the  foundation  corner-stone 
of  the  American  Government,  exampled  by  the  patri- 
archs and  illustrated  by  Christ  and  the  Apostles.  On 
the  other  hand,  Lane's  men  had  most  of  them  fought 
slavery  from  the  time  of  the  organic  act  in  1855,  till  they 
entered  the  war  in  1861,  under  the  teachings  of  Wesley, 
the  divine,  that  it  was  "the  sum  of  all  villanies,"  and 
they  believed  in  the  denunciations  of  it  by  Jefferson,  the 
statesman,  H*hen  he  exclaimed,  in  view  of  it,  "  I  tremble 
for  my  country,  wnen  I  remember  that  God  is  just!" 
There  was  but  an  imaginary  line  two-thirds  of  the  way, 
and  the  Missouri  river  the  other  third,  between  Mis- 
souri and  Kansas,  with  five  years  of  the  bitter  antago- 
nism, the  wrongs  of  invasion,  and  responsibility  thereby 
for  all  wrongs,  to  foment  the  feuds  and  incite  revenge 


2oO  POINTED    THE    SLAVE    TO    THE    NORTH    STAR. 

for  the  past,  when  the  clash  of  arms  came.  Constitutions 
and  laws  had  been  but  as  ropes  of  sand  to  the  former ; 
but  they  .claimed  the  forms  of  law.  That  claim,  little  as 
it  was  worth,  was  lost ;  and  Lane  and  his  men  entered 
Missouri  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  Constitution, 
under  the  flag  which  had  been  immortalized  in  three 
wars.  Lane  himself  had  been  six  years  in  finding  out 
that  slavery  was  local  and  freedom  national,  and  he  had 
no  idea  of  using  a  single  shot  or  a  bayonet  to  uphold 
slavery  or  slaveholders  in  a  country  where  all  were  hos- 
tile, and  the  slaves  kept  in  rigid  subjection,  and  when 
not  erecting  breastworks  or  doing  other  menial  duty  to 
masters  in  the  field  of  conflict,  were  raising  all  the 
crops  and  edible  supplies  for  the  armed  enemies  of  their 
country  and  their  families,  in  whose  homes  aid  and  com- 
fort were  given  to  the  foe,  and  the  bushwhacker's  bullet 
to  the  loyal  citizen.  About  that  time,  Gen.  Fremont 
issued  a  proclamation  of  freedom.  Lane  issued  no  proc- 
lamations of  the  kind,  but  he  scattered  the  slaves  in  all 
directions,  pointed  them  to  the  North  Star  of  deliver- 
ance, and  "  broke  every  bond,  and  let  the  oppressed  go 
free."  He  captured  the  stores  of  an  enemy  which  shot 
every  man  who  dared  to  make  a  move  towards  enlisting 
under  the  American  flag,  and  subsisted  upon  the  enemy. 
He  had  learned  in  the  school  of  the  pioneer  that  to 
weaken  the  enemy  in  resources  of  sustenance  was  better 
than  to  kill  him,  and  his  speeches  to  the  Kansas  people 
at  home  and  the  Kansas  soldiers  in  the  field  were  illus- 
trated by  his  widely-known  story  of  Joe  Darrah  :  "In 


JOE  DARRAH'S  SORE  SHIN.  251 

the  school  of  Kentucky  on  the  line  of  the  Hoosiers  and 
Corncrackers,  when  I  was  a  boy,  we  fought  prize  fights 
at  the  country  schools  for  the  mastery.  I  had  practiced 
till  I  was  proud  and  vain  of  my  proficiency  ;  but  there 
was  one  Joe  Darrah,  a  boy  of  my  age,  whose  skill  and 
muscle  I  had  failed  to  overcome.  One  Saturday  night, 
when  we  boys  were  in  swimming,  poor  Joe  knocked  his 
shin  upon  a  rock,  and  I  had  him  show  his  sore,  and  I 
marked  well  the  spot  that  was  wounded,  and  was  ready 
whenever  he  should  have  the  temerity  to  enter  the  con- 
test. The  time  came  the  next  Saturday  night ;  up  came 
Joe  and  the  combat  commenced.  The  first  opportunity, 
I  kicked  Joe  on  the  shin,  and  he  fled  the  field  bellowing 
like  a  calf.  I  tell  you,  comrades  and  fellow-citizens,* 
that  slavery  is  the  sore  shin  of  the  Confederacy,  and  you 
miss  the  opportunity  of  your  lives,  if  you  fail  to  kick  it 
whenever  and  wherever  you  can .  When  the  slaveholder 
comes  into  camp  whining  about  his  constitutional  rights, 
and  begging  you  to  help  catch  his  slaves,  kick  him  on 
his  sore  shin." 

In  all  these  methods  of  war  and  strategy,  he  but  pre- 
ceded the  inevitable.  In  this,  however,  he  was  the  fore- 
runner of  Abraham  Lincoln,  counseling  and  advising 
with  that  great  statesman,  as  we  shall  show  hereinafter. 

But  the  mossbacks  of  civilization  were  against  him, 
and  Gen .  Halleck  wrote  to  that  other  fossil  of  the  bar- 
baric era,  Gen.  Geo.  B.  McClellan,  December  39,  1861, 
who  was  acting  on  the  theory  that  slavery  was  to  be 
protected  first  and  the  Union  afterwards : 


(JEN.    HALLECK    AGAINST    LANE. 

The  conduct  of  our  troops  during  Fremont's  campaign,  and  es- 
pecially the  course  pursued  by  those  under  Gen.  Lane  and  Jennison, 
has.  turned  against  us  many  thousands  who  were  formerly  Union 
men.  A  few  more  such  raids,  in  connection  with  the  ultra  speeches 
made  by  leading  men  in  Congress,  will  make  the  State  as  unanimous 
against  us  as  is  Eastern  Virginia. 

The  conduct  of  the  forces  under  Lane  and  Jennison  has  done  more 
for  the  enemy  in  this  State  [Missouri]  than  could  have  been  accom- 
plished by  twenty  thousand  of  his  own  army.  I  receive  almost  daily 
complaints  of  outrages  committed  by  these  men  in  the  name  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  evidence  is  so  conclusive  as  to  leave  no  doubt 
about  their  correctness.  It  is  rumored  that  Lane  has  been  made  a 
Brigadier  General.  I  cannot  conceive  of  a  more  injudicious  appoint- 
ment. It  will  take  twenty  thousand  men  to  counteract  its  effects  in 
this  State,  and,  moreover,  it  is  offering  a  premium  for  rascality  and 
robbing  generally. 

The  idea  of  what  Lane  and  Jennison  are  doing  is  as 
maudlin  nonsense  as  if  he  had  written  that  Capt.  Kidd 
and  Henry  Ward  Beecher  had  vexed  the  seas  with  their 
piracies.  Jennison  was,  if  possible,  a  more  malignant 
enemy  of  Lane  than  either  Halleck  or  McClellan  ;  but- 
ter different  reasons :  Jennison  was  a  wild  man,  who 
c6nsidered  Lane  too  conservative  ;  Halleck  and  McClel- 
lan considered  him  the  extreme  of  radicals.  Jennison 
was  a  roysterer,  a  reckless,  drinking  man,  and  a  gam- 
bler. Jennison  allied  himself  with  Lane's  bitterest  ene- 
mies, and,  with  a  big  sword  on,  went  to  an  election 
where  he  had  never  lived,  and  had  no  rights  of  suffrage, 
and  stuffed  a  ballot-box  to  defeat  one  of  Lane's  warmest 
friends ;  and  in  1862  he  went  into  the  State  Convention 
with  a  proxy  which  he  boasted  he  had  bought,  and  when 
his  boasts  were  proven  on  him  he  admitted  his  boasts, 
but,  to  save  his  friend,  denied  the  purchase,  and  told 


HALLECK    WANTS    LANE    SHOT.  253 

the  Convention  to  "set  that  down  as  one  of  Jennison's 
lies."  That  was  the  honor  of  the  gambler.  Jennison 
would  win  the  last  dollar  a  man  had,  give  him  back  a 
five-dollar  bill,  and  send  him  home  to  his  family  in  a 
carriage.  In  Missouri,  they  called  the  lone  chimneys 
"  Jennison's  monuments." 

It  must  not,  however,  be  imagined  that  Jennison  ever 
got  even  with  the  rebels  of  Western  Missouri  in  bar- 
barity. ,  He  was  a  gallant  and  heroic  man  ;  but  he  was 
not  a  co-operator  with  Lane,  nor  did  he  recogni/e  his 
command  ;  and  most  of  the  depredations  charged  to  him 
were  committed  after  the  diabolic  provocations  of  the 
Quantrill  Massacre,  when  Lane  had  no  command  what- 
ever, and  was  almost  constantly  in  the  Senate. 

Gen.  Halleck,  writing  to  Secretary  Stanton,  March 
25,  1862,  after  a  mild  censure  of  "  the  enemy's  guerilla 
bands,"  saying  "they  are  rapidly  disappearing,"  thus 
again  assails  Lane  : 

2d.  The  Kansas  jayhawkers,  or  robbers,  who  were  organized  under 
the  auspices  of  Senator  Lane.  They  wear  the  uniform  of,  and  it  is 
believed  receive  pay  from,  the  United  States.  Their  principal  occu- 
pation for  the  last  six  months  seems  to  have  been  the  STEALING  OF 
NEGROES,  the  robbery  of  houses,  and  the  burning  of  barns,  grain  and 
forage.  The  evidence  of  their  crimes  is  unquestionable.  They  have' 
not  heretofore  been  under  my  orders.  I  WILL  NOW  KEEP  THEM  orT  OK 

MISSOURI,  OR  HAVE  THEM  SHOT. 

November  19,  1861,  Gen.  Ben.  McCullough,  after  hav- 
ing been  pushed  out  of  Kansas  into  Arkansas,  thus  gives 
vent  to  his  views  : 

The  Federals  left  eight  days  since  with  three  thousand  men,  quar- 
reling among  themselves,  and  greatly  injured  their  cause  by  taking 


254  EVERY  DAY'S  DELAY  PERILOUS. 

negroes  belonging  to  Union  men.     Gen.  Lane  went  to  Kansas,  [to  the 
United  States  Senate,]  Gen.  Hunter  to  Sedalia,  and  Sigel  to  Rolla. 

All  this  time,  while  Lane  was  being  "  shot"  by  Hal- 
leek,    and   making   himself    "unpopular"    with    Ben. 
McCullough,  he  was  filling  his  place  in  the  Senate  ;  and 
it  may  be  interesting  to  know  what  he  was  doing : 
From  the  Con.  Globe,  37th  Con.,  2d  Sess.,  1861-62,  Part  1,  p.  110. 

The  Vice-President  announced  that  the  following  resolution,  offered 
yesterday  by  Mr.  Lane  of  Kansas,  was  now  before  the  Senate  for  con- 
sideration : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  War  be  requested  to  furnish  to  the 
Senate  copies  of  the  orders  directing  the  erection  of  barracks  and 
other  buildings  for  winter  quarters  for  the  Kansas  troops." 

Mr.  Lane  of  Kansas.  Mr.  President:  I  do  not  desire  to  conceal 
my  motive  in  introducing  this  resolution.  As  a  citizen  and  a  Senator, 
I  have  the  right  of  criticising  the  acts  of  the  government;  and  I 
mean  to  exercise  it  with  the  full  flush  of  truthful  patriotism — kindly, 
but  fearlessly,  cordially,  beseechingly. 

I  will  waste  no  words.  I  do  not  wish  uselessly  to  consume  your 
time.  But  the  hour  is,  when  truth  should  be  spoken  in  these  halls, 
and  that  plainly.  I  declare  then,  as  a  fact  which  all  financiers  will 
admit,  and  no  statesman  dispute,  that  every  day's  delay  in  the  vigor- 
ous prosecution  of  this  war  is  pregnant  with  peril  to  the  Republic. 

Sir,  this  is  a  war  of  the  people.  When  Sumter  fell,  they  became  a 
unit.  Party  prejudices  were  scattered,  personal  hates  forgotten. 
Roused  by  their  wrongs,  they  proffered  their  strength  and  pledged  all 
their  resources  to  avenge  an  injustice  which  threatened  to  destroy 
the  freest  government  on  earth.  Manassas  followed — a  fearful  re- 
verse, and  seemingly  a  fatal  defeat.  But  even  that  did  not  dash  the 
spirit  nor  shake  the  purpose  of  the  people.  The  balk  of  the  moment, 
the  blood  and  treasure  lost,  only  deepened  their  determination  to 
crush  out  the  conspiracy.  Such  unity,  such  ardor,  such  sacrifices, 
the  world  has  rarely  or  never  witnessed. 

Sir,  let  me  not  be  misunderstood  in  this  matter  of  delay.  My  con- 
fidence in  the  administration  will  not  permit  me,  for  a  moment,  seri- 


INACTION  THE  BANE  OF  THE  VOLUNTEER.     255 

ousiy  to  entertain  the  injurious  suspicion  that  this  army  we  have 
created — so  admirable  in  spirit  and  discipline,  so  complete  in  all  its 
appointments — this  magnificent  organization,  to  which  the  country 
has  contributed  its  choicest  spirits,  and  on  which  it  has  lavished  un- 
told millions  of  treasure — is  destined,  without  one  decisive  blow 
struck,  to  a  living  burial  in  the  inglorious  obscurity  of  winter  quar- 
ters !  But,  should  this  confidence  prove  to  be  misplaced — should  this 
fatal  policy  of  inaction  seize  upon  the  energy  of  our  rulers,  I  feel,  I 
KNOW,  that  the  public  announcement  of  the  fact  will  be  as  the  fire-bell 
at  midnight.  Dismay  and  confusion  will  follow ;  and  the  eagles  of 
anarchy  may  interpose  new  and  fearful  obstacles  to  the  restoration  of 
that  government  whose  chief  peril  must  always  result  from  the  loss 
of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  people. 

Fortunately  the  people  are  as  intelligent  as  they  are  patriotic. 
They  do  not  require  impossibilities,  nor  insist  upon  premature  action. 
And  thus  we  are  brought  to  the  consideration  of  the  questions  of 
strength  and  preparation. 

Why  is  our  army  inactive?  Will  it  be  answered  that  it  is  still  de- 
ficient in  discipline  ?  That  reply  is  as  unjust  as  it  would  be  illogical. 
Ours  is  an  i  rmy  of  volunteers,  who  must  not  be  judged  by  the  rules 
applied  to  regulars.  You  cannot  drill  it  into  that  mere  machine 
which  martinets  consider  the  perfection  of  efficiency.  The  citizen- 
soldier  is  an  individual ;  no  amount  of  discipline  can  destroy  his  indi- 
viduality. Four  months  of  industrious  drill  is  ample  time  to  prepare 
such  troops  for  effective  service.  Prolonged  inactivity  will  finally 
discourage  his  zeal.  The  prospect  of  action  must  be  ever  present 
as  an  incentive.  Inaction  is  the  bane  of  the  volunteer. 

These  opinions  I  express  with  confidence;  for  I  have  had  a  large 
experience  in  the  management  of  volunteer  soldiers.  The  training 
of  two  distinct  regiments  during  the  Mexican  war,  with  subsequent 
labors  in  Kansas,  and  the  campaigns  of  the  last  spring  and  summer 
in  Missouri,  have  given  me  a  practical  knowledge  on  this  subject  en- 
titled to  consideration. 

The  regiments  that  fought  and  won  the  Battle  of  Buena  Vista  were 
not  as  well  provided  as  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  and  not  better 
drilled.  Sir,  I  have  witnessed  the  drill  of  that  army  ;  and  I  am  sat- 


2-")6  INVULNERABLE    ON    OPEN    PRAIRIE. 

isfied  that  it  has  reached  the  maximum  of  discipline  attainable  by 
volunteers,  and  that  every  day  of  inaction  now  tends  to  its  demoral- 
ization. While,  also,  as  regards  discipline,  we  are  as  fully  prepared 
for  action  as  we  ever  shall  be.  we  have  the  advantage  of  superiority, 
in  that  respect,  to  the  enemy.  Every  unprejudiced  observer  during 
the  Mexican  war  will  testify  that  the  regiments  from  the  North,  in 
the  excellence  of  their  drill,  far  exceeded  those  from  the  states  now 
in  rebellion.  Our  opponents  are  formidable  only  when  their  individ- 
uality can  be  shown  while  fighting  under  cover — as  at  Manassas, 
Springfield,  and  Ball's  Bluff.  Operating  in  mass,  on  the  open  field,  we 
can  always  conquer;  as  at  Dry  wood,  where  four  hundred  Kansas 
troops  checked  and  drove  back  ten  thousand  rebels.  And  of  these 
facts,  the  Confederates  are  themselves  fully  aware.  Recently,  at 
Spring  River,  eight  hundred  Kansas  troops  encountered  six  thousand 
rebels,  covered  by  that  stream  and  six  miles  of  timber.  This  hand- 
ful of  heroic  men  offered  a  fight  on  the  open  prairie,  which  was  de- 
clined by  the  enemy — either  because  they  expected  us  to  repeat  the 
folly  of  attacking  them  in  their  timber-stronghold,  or  feared  a  defeat 
without  its  protection.  It  will  require,  on  our  part,  rapidity  of 
movement  and  boldness  of  strategy  to  force  them  into  a  battle  on  the 
open  field. 

So  much  for  efficiency.  That  heroic  veteran,  the  late  Lieutenant 
General  of  the  army,  now  forced  by  age  and  infirmity  into  a  retire- 
ment made  glorious  by  the  memories  of  a  long  life  of  patriotism  and 
triumph,  announced  the  fact  that  the  ides  of  October  would  see  his 
columns  prepared  to  move.  Hence  it  is  impossible  not  to  believe  that 
they  are  by  this  time  complete  in  arms,  equipment,  means  of  trans- 
portation, and  every  other  physical  appliance  of  service. 

Why,  then,  do  they  tarry  ?  If  Napoleon,  with  sixty  thousand  undis- 
ciplined recruits,  scaling  the  frozen  fastnesses  of  the  Alps,  and  avoid- 
ing their  hostile  fortifications,  could,  in  five  weeks,  reach  the  plains 
of  Lombardy,  pierce  the  Austrian  lines,  and  annihilate  the  army  of 
Melas,  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  strong,  on  the  fields  of  Ma- 
rengo,  thereby  emancipating  the  whole  of  Italy,  shall  it  be  said  that 
we  cannot  surmount  the  hills  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky  in  spite  of 
their  defenses,  and,  penetrating  to  the  heart  of  the  rebellion,  strike 


CLEAR  THIS  WAR  OF  DOUBTS.  257 

in  detail  their  armies  inferior  to  our  own  in  numbers,  arms,  equip- 
ment, discipline,  and  all  that  constitutes  the  true  soldier,  and  stretch 
along  a  line  of  over  two  thousand  miles  in  extent,  destroying  the  het- 
erogeneous hosts  as  we  go,  or  scattering  them  in  consternation,  and 
restore  to  the  rule  of  the  Republic  those  fair  regions  now  cursed  by 
a  usurpation  more  intolerable  than  that  of  the  Austrian,  and  which 
holds  in  bonds  of  terror  even  those  wretched  men  who  are  committed 
to  its  support?  Mr.  President,  to  doubt  our  ability  is  disgraceful ! 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  the  snows  of  winter  are  upon  us.  If  Wash- 
ington could  march  his  barefooted  soldiers  over  the  frozen  roads  of 
New  Jersey,  their  footsteps  marked  with  blood,  and,  in  the  middle  of 
winter,  cross  the  Delaware  filled  with  floating  ice,  can  we  not,  at  the 
same  season,  move  our  well-clad  legions  towards  the  mild  valleys  of 
the  South  to  re-establish  that  freedom  which  their  sufferings  secured? 

AVill  you  wait  till  spring,  when  the  roads,  if  ever,  will  become  im- 
passable ?  or  till  our  troops  shall  have  been  decimated  by  the  diseases 
•of  summer?  No.  Clear  this  war  of  the  doubts  that  surround  its 
purpose  ;  give  to  the  volunteer  a  battle-cry  ;  cherish  the  enthusiasm 
which  is  indispensable  to  success,  and  which  nerved  the  conscripts  of 
Napoleon  to  the  achievement  of  victory  without  leference  to  disparity 
of  numbers.  See  that  your  volunteers  are  not  thrown  upon  artillery 
without  preparation  ;  they  must  see  the  guns,  count  them,  hear  the 
whistle  of  their  balls,  and  thus  prepared,  no  strength  of  fortifications 
can  resist  them  ;  they  are  the  most  effective  troops  on  earth.  He  who 
doubts  this,  or  underrates  them  in  comparison  with  others,  knows 
but  little  of  their  energy  of  purpose  and  their  devotion  to  their 
country  and  their  flag.  Was  such  another  victory  ever  gained  upon 
the  open  field  as  that  of  Buena  Vista?  Twenty  thousand  well- 
disciplined  troops,  amply  supplied  with  artillery,  overthrown  by 
forty-six  hundred  ragged  American  volunteers!  Those  who  wit- 
nessed that  conflict  will  know  how  to  appreciate  the  indomitable 
fighting  qualities  of  troops  like  ours. 

The  occupation  of  the  rebel  states  by  our  army  is  a  military  neces- 
sity. I  laugh  to  scorn  the  policy  of  wooing  back  the  traitors  to  their 
allegiance  by  seizing  and  holding  unimportant  points  in  those  States. 
Every  invitation  extended  to  them  in  kindness  is  an  encouragement 


258  SCATTER    THE    ENEMY WHIP    SOMEBODY. 

to  stronger  resistance.  The  exhausting  policy  is  a  failure.  So  long 
as  they  have  four  million  slaves  to  feed  them,  so  long  will  this  rebel- 
lion be  sustained.  My  word  for  it,  sir,  long  before  they  reach  the 
point  of  exhaustion,  the  people  of  this  country  will  lose  confidence  in 
their  rulers.  And  it  is  unreasonable  to  expect  the  loyal  citizens  of 
the  rebel  States  to  manifest  their  desire  to  return  to  their  allegiance 
while  their  homes  and  families  are  in  the  power  of  their  oppressors. 
Did  the  Italians  welcome  Napoleon  till  he  had  expelled  their  tyrants, 
and  thereby  proved  his  ability  to  protect  them  ?  So  with  the  people 
of  the  disloyal  States ;  march  your  armies  there  ;  engage  and  scatter 
the  forces  of  the  enemy ;  whip  somebody;  evidence  your  ability  to 
protect  the  loyal  citizens,  their  homes  and  families;  and  then,  and 
not  till  then,  will  they  rally  to  your  standard  by  thousand  and  te.is 
of  thousands. 

I  have  alluded,  Mr.  President,  to  the  slave  population  of  the  rebel 
States.  It  is  claimed  by  the  friends  of  slavery  that  the  institution  is 
a  source  of  military  strength.  The  slaves  are  made,  not  only  to  feed 
and  clothe  their  oppressors,  but  to  build  fortifications  for  their  de- 
fense, and  even  in  some  cases  to  bear  arms  in  their  service.  The 
slaveholders  are  right — and  they  are  wrong;  the  institution  is  an 
element  of  strength,  but  only  while  it  exists.  Withdraw  that  ele- 
ment, and  this  Rebellion  falls  of  its  own  weight.  The  masters  will 
not  work,  and  they  must  eat.  Now  they  are  fighting  to  retain  their 
slaves,  exposing  their  lives  and  the  lives  of  their  sons.  Suppose  WE 
had  their  slaves:  to  what  lengths  would  they  not  go  in  an  opposite 
direction,  in  the  hope  to  recover  them?  They  would  bow  down  in 
dutiful  submission,  even  to  Abraham  Lincoln  himself.  In  my  opinion, 
the  obtaining  possession  of  those  slaves  by  the  government  would  be 
more  effectual  in  crushing  out  the  rebellion  than  the  seizure,  if  it 
could  be  made,  of  every  ounce  of  ammunition  they  possess.  As  the 
fear  of  losing  their  slaves  is  now  the  incentive  to  war,  so  would  then 
the  desire  for  their  recovery  be  the  inducement  for  peace.  March 
your  splendid  armies  into  the  heart  of  their  Confederacy ;  win  one 
victory  ;  oppose  kindness  to  cruelty,  and  as  the  peasantry  of  France 
rallied  to  the  standard  of  Napoleon  on  his  return  from  Elba,  so  will 
the  slaves  with  one  impulse  flock  to  ours.  The  General  who  com- 


ADVANCE  RAPIDLY STRIKE    BOLDLY.  259 

mands  the  army  will  be  received  with  the  same  acclaim  as  was  Bona- 
parte ;  they  will  hail  him  as  their  liberator  and  friend,  and  by  their 
very  numbers  will  secure  safety  to  his  army.  No  trouble,  then,  in 
obtaining  information  of  the  enemy's  operations.  Interested  in  our 
success — grateful  as  they  will  be  faithful,  every  movement  endan- 
gering their  champions  and  protectors  will  be  instantly  reported. 
Peace  will  be  restored  and  the  CAUSE  of  the  war  removed  ;  and  then, 
in  these  halls,  in  the  interest  of  humanity  and  a  united  country,  we 
can  deliberate  and  do  justice. 

Mr.  President,  in  my  opinion  the  policy  of  fortifications  should  be 
discarded.  A  capital  dependent  upon  such  protection  is  not  worth 
preserving.  The  only  sufficient  bulwark  for  its  defense  is  formed  by 
the  loyal  breasts  of  our  citizen  soldiery.  Think  no  more  of  barracks 
for  winter  quarters  ;  our  troops  do  not  desire  them.  Cheat  yourselves 
no  longer  with  the  delusive  idea  that  your  camps  are  still  schools  of 
instruction  ;  henceforward  your  lessons  must  be  taught  in  the  field. 
Advance  rapidly,  and  strike  boldly.  The  country  is  favorable ;  the 
climate  invites ;  the  cause  demands.  Advance,  and  all  is  accom- 
plished ;  the  government  is  saved,  and  freedom  is  triumphant. 

Mr.  Carlile  replied,  but  we  cannot  cumber  these  pages 
more  than  to  give  the  substance  of  his  replication.  The 
position  of  Gen.  Lane  is  too  intelligibly  stated,  and  too 
faithfully  sutained  by  the  historical  results  following  it, 
to  need  defense. 

The  substance  of  the  reply  was,  that  where  there  was 
greater  danger  of  defeat  than  hopes  of  victory,  we  should 
hesitate  long  before  precipitating  battle.  He  was  "  sur- 
prised to  hear  from  the  Senator  that  twenty  million  of 
loyal  people  are  unable  to  contend  with  five  million  in 
rebellion— counting  all  the  whites  that  are  in  the  rebel- 
lious States — without  liberating  the  four  million  slaves 
that  are  in  the  slaveholding  States."  It  was  a  speech 


200  NEGRO    TROOPS    SUGGESTED. 

"deprecating  slavery  agitation,"  and  pronouncing  any 
opposition  to  slavery  as  "an  inhuman  and  unholy  cru- 
sade against  American  constitutional  liberty,"  and  aver- 
ring that  when  the  army  ' '  are  to  be  changed  into  an 
army  of  negro  thieves,  you  will  see  that  army  disap- 
pear as  rapidly  as  the  snow  melts  under  the  rays  of  a 
Southern  sun." 

History  has  made  that  language  laughable.  But 
the  utterances  of  Lane  were  the  advance  thoughts  of  the 
times,  startling  the  Senate  with  their  boldness.  The 
official  reports  of  1861-62,  show  his  perseverance  in  the 
policy  foreshadowed  in  this  patriotic-speech.  In  this  he 
confronted  opposition  from  all  quarters.  On  a  propo- 
sition to  insert  the  word  "white"  in  a  joint  resolution 
for  the  enlistment  of  troops  in  Kansas  and  the  South- 
west, Gen.  Lane  said : 

Give  to  Gen.  Hunter  the  power  asked  for  in  this  joint  resolution, 
and  I  answer  this  Senate,  as  I  answered  a  distinguished  gentleman 
the  other  day,  that  he  can  have  and  use  thirty-four  thousand  slaves 
in  a  column  of  thirty-four  thousand  soldiers ;  and  without  expense, 
too.  Instead  of  shipping  your  flour  to  the  army,  send  them  corn 
mills  to  grind  their  own  corn,  and  let  the  slaves  who  seek  the  lines 
do  that  business.  I  believe  that  we  could  profitably  use  in  the  army 
of  the  United  States  now  in  the  field  every  able-bodied  slave  in  the 
slave  States,  and  that,  too,  without  putting  arms  in  their  hands. 

This  joint  resolution  does  not  give  to  Major  General  Hunter  the 
power  to  arm  slaves,  or  to  arm  Indians,  or  to  arm  loyal  citizens  ;  but 
he  can  say  to  the  loyal  white  man,  "Join  us;  we  will  organize  you 
into  companies  and  regiments — bring  your  own  gun;"  he  Jean  say  to 
those  Indians,  who  are  gallantly  contending  for  our  flag  upon  the 
western  plains:  "Come  within  our  lines;  we  will  organize  you ;  we 
will  feed  you."  That  is  the  power  that  is  given  under  this  bill,  and 


WOULD    TAKE    THE    RESPONSIBILITY.  261 

intended  to  be  given  ;  to  receive  them,  to  feed  them,  and  to  commu- 
nicate with  the  Government  as  to  their  acceptance ;  and  when  ac- 
cepted by  the  government,  and  not  till  then,  to  pay  and  arm  them. 
When  further  interrogated,  he  responded  : 

I  say  to  the  gentleman  from  Iowa,  that  I  wished  to  be  understood, 
that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  was  not  committed  in  this 
joint  resolution  to  the  policy  of  arming  the  slaves.  Permit  me  here 
to  say,  however,  and  I  wish  it  distinctly  understood,  that  if  I  had  the 
command  of  that  army,  while  I  would  not  commit  the  Government 
to  the  policy,  I  would  say  to  every  slave :  "  I  have  not  arms  for  you ; 
but  if  it  is  in  your  power  to  obtain  arms  from  rebels,  I  will  use  you  as 
soldiers  against  traitors."  [Applause  in  the  galleries.] 

Before  these  speeches  were  uttered,  Lane  had  been 
liberating  negroes,  and  advocating  their  enlistment  in 
the  army  ;  but  public  sentiment  had  not  advanced  far 
enough  to  attempt  the  practical  enforcement  of  his  ideas. 
The  prejudice  against  the  negro  made  even  the  most 
advanced  philanthropist  hesitate  in  such  a  policy,  under 
the  fear  that  the  negro,  like  the  Indian,  would  perpe- 
trate barbarities  in  revenge  for  their  hardships  as  slaves 
that  would  arouse  the  enmity  of  the  civilized  world 
against  our  country,  and  it  was  for  that  reason  that 
Lane's  policy  was  not  to  stand  up  in  the  Senate  and  ad- 
vocate unconditional  enlistment ;  and  only  when  pressed 
by  Pro-Slavery  men  did  he  break  out  in  his  real  senti- 
ments, bringing  cheers  from  the  galleries. 

Within  six  months  of  the  time  of  these  debates,  as  I 
was  walking  down  Pennsylvania  avenue,  in  Washing- 
ton, with  Lane,  he  told  me  that  he  had  just  received 
authority  to  organize  three  regiments  of  white  and  two 
of  colored  soldiers  in  Kansas ;  and  when  I  asked  in 


262  UNPARALLELED    ENLISTMENTS. 

amazement  to  see  the  order  to  enlist  the  colored  troops, 
he  informed  me  that  it  was  a  VERBAL  promise  from  the 
President  that  he  would  see  that  they  were  clothed  and 
subsisted  until  such  time  as  they  could  be  brought  into 
line  armed  and  equipped  for  battle  ;  and  on  August  4, 
1862,  he  opened  a  recruiting  office  in  Leaven  worth  for 
both  white  and  colored  troops.  He  stumped  the  entire 
State,  appealing  to  the  patriotism  of  the  people,  in  a 
campaign  of  unparalleled  energy  and  power  ;  and  in  less 
than  six  weeks  he  had  the  Eleventh,  Twelfth  and  Thir- 
teenth Kansas  regiments  organized,  and  a  nucleus  for 
the  First  and  Second  Colored  infantry,  the  First  Colored 
Battery  thrown  in  for  good  count,  and  all  completed  be- 
fore the  ides  of  October.  He  appointed  all  the  officers, 
under  the  authority  of  the  President — no  recognition  be- 
ing given  to  the  Kansas  State  Government.  I  am  not 
explaining.  I  am  only  attesting  a  fact.  Abraham 
Lincoln  did  it. 

Abraham  Lincoln's  "  enemy  has  written  a  book,"  and 
in  it  he  has  given  him  this  certificate  : 

Born  as  lowly  as  the  Son  of  God,  in  a  hovel,  of  what  ancestry  we 
know  not  and  care  not,  reared  in  penury  and  squalor,  with  no  gleam 
«f  light  nor  fair  surroundings  ;  without  external  graces,  actual  or  ac- 
qnired  ;  without  name  or  fame  or  official  training,  it  was  reserved  for 
this  strange  being,  late  in  life,  to  be  snatched  from  obscurity,  raised 
to  a  supreme  command  at  a  supreme  moment,  and  entrusted  with  the 
destiny  of  a  Nation.  Where  did  Shakspeare  get  his  genius  ?  Where 
did  Mozart  get  his  music  ?  Whose  hand  smote  the  lyre  of  the  Scottish 
plowman?  God,  God,  and  God  alone;  and  so  surely  as  these  were 
raised  up  by  God,  was  Abraham  Lincoln ;  and  a  thousand  year* 
hence,  no  story,  no  tragedy,  no  epic  poem  will  be  filled  with  greater 


GEN.    THOMAS    OUTLANES    LANK.  263 

wonder,  or  be  followed  by  mankind  with  deeper  feeling  than  that 
which  tells  of  his  life  and  death. 

Since  Balak  stood  upon  a  high  mountain,  overlooking 
the  armies  of  Israel,  commanding  his  prophet,  saying, 
''Come,  curse  me  Jacob,"  and  the  prophet  replying, 
*'  How  can  I  curse  whom  God  hath  not  cursed?"  there 
never  has  been  such  a  testimonial  from  an  "  enemy  " 
as  the  noble  tribute  of  Henry  \Vatterson  to  Abraham 
Lincoln. 

It  will  be  well  to  remember,  that,  in  all  these  tirades 
against  Lane  by  Halleck  and  McClellan,  his  depreda- 
tions generally  consist  in  refusing  to  prevent  negroes  from 
fleeing  from  their  oppressors,  or  encouraging  them  in 
leaving.  But  afterwards,  that  grand  old  Virginian, 
Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  went  into  Mississippi  and  else- 
where, and  swept  all  the  able-bodied  negroes  within 
reach  of  his  command  into  his  army,  and  spread  con- 
sternation and  defeat  wherever  he  appeared. 

Another  remarkable  fact  is,  that  on  February  11, 
1862,  McClellan  denounced  Lane  to  Secretary  Stanton 
for  "  seizing  and  confiscating  the  property  of  rebels," 
while  six  months  before,  (August  9,  1861,)  the  day  that 
the  rebel  John  Reynolds  drove  sixty  families  from  the 
Neutral  Lands  in  Kansas,  and  the  day  before  the  Battle 
of  Wilson's  Creek,  McClellan  was  receiving  letters,  and 
considering  propositions  for  deposing  Lincoln  and  assum- 
ing either  the  Presidency  or  Dictatorship — (see  McCfel- 
lan's  Own  Book,  page  85.)  He  says  :  "  I  receive  letter 
after  letter,  have  conversation  after  conversation,  calling 


204  THE    WORLD    SUSTAINS    HIM. 

on  me  to  save  the  Nation,  alluding  to  the  Presidency, 
Dictatorship,  etc."  Lane  would  have  captured  and  sent 
to  prison  any  man  who  would  have  dared  to  enter  his 
camp  with  such  a  proposition,  and  Jennison  would  have 
hung  him.  True,  he  said  he  was  going  to  lay  it  down 
when  he  had  "  saved  the  Nation  ;"  but  dictators  have  a 
bad  habit  of  abdicating  with  their  heads  off. 

Lane's   policy   prevailed,  and   the  world   admits   its 
wisdom. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

QUANTRILL'S  MASSACRE  AT  LAWRENCE. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  write  a  history  of  that  unpar- 
alleled barbarity,  beyond  what  is  necessary  to  describe 
Gen.  Lane's  escape,  and  his  futile  but  determined  effort 
to  capture  Quantrill  and  his  command,  in  which  Lane  had 
no  command  whatever ;  and  any  intelligible  statement 
would  require  the  censure  or  approval  of  the  conduct  of 
others. 

August  21,  1863,  in  the  twilight  of  the  morning,  the 
noted  guerrilla  and  bushwhacker,  William  C.  Quantrill r 
after  having  made  two  forays  into  Kansas-  as  far  as 
Shawnee,  in  Johnson  county,  in  the  first  burning  a  fine 
hotel  and  five  or  six  dwellings,  as  well  as  murdering 
several  citizens,  and  in  the  second  burning  nearly  all 
the  place  and  murdering  four  or  five  more,  with  other 
depredations  and  murders  at  Olathe  and  elsewhere,  en- 
tered Lawrence,  and  murdered  183  men  and  beys,  mal- 
treated women,  and  burned  nearly  all  the  valuable  por- 
tion of  the  town,  robbing  banks,  stores,  houses,  &c. ,  to 
an  aggregate  of  more  than  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars. 

Lane  was  an  object  of  special  vengeance.     Three  meu 


:2t>r>  LANE'S  ESCAPE  AND  PURSUIT. 

met  Mr.  Arthur  Spicer,  a  well-known  citizen,  and  asking 
liim  if  he  knew  Lane,  and  where  he  lived,  getting  an 
'affirmative  response,  he  was  shown  a  horse,  with  the 
command  :  ' '  Mount !  and  if  you  veer  to  the  right  or  left, 
you  are  a  dead  man  !" 

The  race  started  on  fleet  horses,  arriving  at  Lane's 
front  door  just  as  he  escaped  from  a  back  window,  and 
thence  into  a  cornfield.  Out  of  the  cornfield  he  got  to  a 
clump  of  bushes,  and  soon  managed  to  get  a  horse,  which 
was  pasturing  near  by  on  the  prairie,  and  at  the  very 
earliest  possible  moment  he  was  rallying  men  to  his  aid 
in  pursuit.  In  the  meantime,  his  home  and  all  its  con- 
tents went  up  in  flames. 

The  position  of  the  writer  was  such — having  had  two 
sons  murdered,  one  of  them  supposed  to  have  been 
totally  burned  up — that  he  had  but  few  opportunities 
for  exact  personal  knowledge  ;  and  he  therefore  copies 
literally  from  one  of  the  most  reliable  men  in  the 
pursuit : 

<iuantrill  had  hardly  drawn  his  men  out  of  the  burned  city  before 
Lane,  securing  a  horse,  started  in  pursuit,  accompanied  by  a  few  cit- 
izens from  the  country. 

<juantrill  was  easy  to  follow,  as  his  road  was  lighted  up  by  the 
burning  houses  and  barns.  Lane  pushed  ahead,  being  joined,  as  he 
went,  by  other  citizens,  until  coming  to  Brooklin,  on  the  old  Santa  Fe 
trail,  he  came  upon  QuantriU's  men  in  the  act  of  burning  Thad. 
Prentice's  house.  They  were  driven  off  and  the  house  saved,  and  no 
more  houses  were  burned  from  there  until  they  were  safe  into  Mis- 
souri. They  had  enough  to  do  to  save  themselves.  The  whole  of 
•<JuantrilPs  force  was  in  sight  about  half  a  mile  ahead.  Lane  halted 
hi*  following,  drew  them  up  in  line,  and  counted  off  a  total  of  35r 


ONLY    THIRTY-FIVE    MEN    WITH    LANE.  267 

mostly  armed,  some  on  mules,  some  on  good  horses,  and  others  on 
old  "  plugs,"  some  had  saddles  and  some  not — no  two  mounted  alike 
and  equally  armed.     Some  had  old  rifles  long  unused,  some  muskets, 
others  with   shotguns,   and  some  with  pistols— all   with   a  limited 
amount  of  ammunition,  some  having  only  the  loads  in  their  guns.     It 
was  apparent  at  once  to  Lane,  that  if  he  rushed  this  motley  crowd,  in 
the  open  prairie,  onto  (Juan trill's  cutthroats,  he  would  be  only  lead- 
ing  them  to  certain  destruction,  and  do  no  good.     So,  after  a  hurried 
consultation,  it  was  determined  to  send  one  man  back  for  ammuni- 
tion, and  to  hurry  forward  the  country  people  row  swarming  on  the 
trail,  with  the  word  that  he  had  overtaken  Quan trill,  and  as  soon  as 
more  men  came  up,  would  attack  him.     John  K.  Rnnkin  had  joined 
the  pursuit  some  miles  back.     Lane  placed  him  in  command  of  the 
35  men,  and  said,  that  as  Quantrill  was  evidently  heading  south  for 
the  Ottawa  ford,  we  would  go  and  hang  on  his  left  flank,  by  the  way 
of  Prairie  City,  in  the  hope  of  joining  the  militia  company  of  that 
section,  and  then  be  able  to  do  something.     He  had  only  proceeded 
in  that  direction  a  mile  or  so,  when  (leo,  \Vood,  a  well-known  farmer 
living  near  Black  Jack,  galloped  up  and  said  to  Gen.  Lane:  "There 
are  250  cavalry  just  over  here."    They  were  in  fact  in  plain  sight. 
Lane  at  once  directed  him  to  return  to  the  commanding  officer,  and 
say  to  him,  that  Quantrill  was  about  half  a  mile  west  of  where  we 
were,  across  the  cornfield,  going  down  the  Fort  Scott  road,  and  that 
we  would  attack  him  at  once — to  come  on.     Wood  departed  at  full 
speed  with  his  information,  and  Lane  turned  to  Kankin  and  ordered 
him  to  proceed  at  all  speed  and  attack.     Then  putting  spur  to  his  own 
horse,  he  led  the  way.     Owing  to  the  cornfields,  it  was  necessary  to 
follow  the  fences  for  quite  a  distance,  they  apparently  terminating  in 
some  woods.     Lane  being  much  in  advance,  Kankin  being  detained 
by  a  vain  attempt  to  keep  his  men  together,  passed  the  mouth  of  a 
narrow  lane  running  west.     Just  after  he  had  done  so,  and  before 
Kankin  had  reached  it,  two  companies  of  cavalry  galloped  into  the 
lane,  and  were  soon  out  of  sight.     On  arriving  at  the  lane,  Rankin 
halted,  and  looking  back  for  his  men,  discovered  he  had  but  one  man 
with  him,  the  rest  being  strung  along  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  back,  all 


268      LANE  AND  RANKIN  ORDER  THE  CHARGE. 

coming,  but  owing  to  the  diversified  and  peculiar  mount,  no  two  of 
them  could  keep  together.  Seeing  the  hopelessness  of  ever  getting 
these  men  as  a  body  to  the  front,  Kankin  ordered  the  man  who  had 
been  able  to  keep  up  to  go  back  and  turn  all  down  the  lane,  and  en- 
courage all  to  come  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible — that  the  regular 
troops  had  got  ahead  of  us — and  that  he  would  go  ahead  and  join 
them.  This  was  done.  On  getting  out  on  the  open  prairie,  he  found 
the  way  strewn  with  sidesaddles,  calico,  and  all  descriptions  of  plun- 
der, abandoned  by  Quantrill's  men  on  getting  a  glimpse  of  the  sol- 
diers. On  coming  up  with  the  troops,  he  found  one  company  deployed 
across  the  road  as  skirmishers,  and  heard  the  command  given  to 
charge,  which  was  done  in  gallant  style,  advancing  down  the  road  on 
the  run,  Quantrill's  rear  guard  being  followed  in  hot  pursuit,  coming 
up  with  them  as  the  farm  of  Mr.  Josiah  Fletcher  was  reached.  Mr. 
Fletcher  had  extended  the  fence  around  his  cornfield  into  the  grass 
land  on  the  west  side,  and  across  the  road,  making  quite  an  angle  in 
the  road,  around  this  new  land  and  his  cornfield.  Rankin  being  fa- 
miliar with  the  country,  galloped  to  the  head  of  the  second  company 
advancing  in  column,  and  said  to  the  commanding  officer,  to  throw 
his  command  into  line,  throw  the  fences,  and  advance  through  the 
corn,  so  that  he  would  come  up  on  the  enemy's  flank,  the  other  com- 
pany now  having  driven  the  rear  guard  in,  they  would  be  compelled 
to  fight  on  the  other  side  of  the  field.  This  they  proceeded  to  do,  no 
halt  being  made  beyond  the  time  required  to  open  the  field  suffi- 
ciently to  let  the  troops  through.  Coming  up  in  line  to  the  fence  on 
the  other  side,  to  find  Quantrill,  as  Rankin  expected  drawn  up  in 
line  awaiting,  as  he  supposed,  the  inevitable  assault,  Rankin  gave  the 
order  to  throw  the  fence  and  charge.  Just  at  this  juncture,  Lane,  who, 
as  before  stated,  had  missed  the  lane«  and  consequently,  Rankin  gal- 
loped up  through  the  corn,  and  also  ordered  the  fence  thrown,  and 
to  charge.  Seeing  no  one  disposed  to  throw  the  fence,  Lane  and 
Rankin  dismounted  and  commenced  to  throw  it,  Lane  urging  with 
all  his  command  of  language  the  charge  and  the  folly  of  stopping 
there.  By  this  time,  the  officer  in  command  came  to  himself,  and 
shouted  :  "  Dismount  and  give  them  a  round  or  two  with  your  Burn- 
sides  at  three  hundred  yards."  This  order  was  promptly  obeyed. 


DESPERATE  EFFORTS  TO  RALLY  THE  MKX.      269 

Thereupon,  Lane  and  Rankin,  knowing  the  fence  would  be  needed, 
quit  throwing  it.  Almost  immediately  Quantrill  and  his  men  raised 
a  shout  and  charged.  The  troops,  not  having  been  properly  drilled  or 
from  some  other  cause,  failed  to  take  the  usual  precautions  with  their 
horses,  and  at  the  first  discharge  of  their  guns,  the  horses  began  to 
pull  back.  The  men  became  confused,  and  no  order  or  exertion  Lane 
was  able  to  use  could  avail  to  hold  them  to  the  work,  with  QuantriU's 
men  rushing,  yelling  and  firing  towards  them,  and  they  went  pell- 
mell  back  through  the  corn.  The  company  which  had  been  deployed 
as  skirmishers  having  come  around  the  field,  started  to  make  a  coun- 
ter charge;  but  finding  they  were  not  being  supported  by  those  who 
were  in  the  cornfield,  fell  back.  Lane  and  Rankin  soon  found  them- 
selves alone.  Rankin  mounted  his  horse  first,  but  he  knowing  the 
danger,  only  delayed  from  unwillingness  to  desert  a  friend  ;  Lane  did 
not  mount  his  horse  until  an  advance  man  was  within  thirty  feet  of 
him.  This  man  discharged  his  revolvers  at  Lane  as  he  rose  into  the 
saddle.  Riding  rapidly  through  the  corn,  they  found  the  men  gather- 
ing their  horses  at  the  further  fence.  Lane  exhorted  them  to  mount 
at  once  and  renew  the  attack,  QuantriU's  men  riding  out  and  waving 
their  hats  and  jeering  at  them.  Just  as  the  company  was  about 
mounted,  the  officer  in  command  of  the  troops  galloped  up  with  two 
more  companies.  After  a  word  or  two  with  him,  Lane  led  the  re- 
mounted company  into  a  charge  across  the  field  ;  but  on  arriving  at 
the  other  side,  found  that  Quantrill  had  improved  the  short  delay  in 
getting  away,  and  was  now  half  a  mile  on  his  way  to  Missouri. 

At  this  point  our  correspondent  separated  from  the 
command.  Col.  Rankin  had  no  command  there ;  but 
lie  was  then  Lieutenant  and  Aide-de-Camp  to  General 
Robert  B.  Mitchell.  Lane  there  fell  in  with  the  regu- 
larly-enlisted volunteer  troops  without  a  command,  and 
loyally  did  his  duty  as  a  private  soldier. 

The  historical  fact  is  too  patent  to  need  repetition, 
that  Lawrence  was  almost  literally  a  community  of  non- 
combatants — not  that  they  were  religiously  or  conscien- 


270  BLOOD    RAN    IN    RIVULETS. 

tiously  non-resistants,  but  they  were  business  men  and 
boys  too  young  cind  men  too  old  for  service,  or  invalids, 
the  patriotism  of  the  people  having  led  nearly  all  fit  for 
duty  into  the  field  ;  or,  as  one  patriotic  woman  expressed 
it,  as  they  ignited  the  liquid  which  sent  her  house  up  in 
flame,  and  one  of  them  inquired,  "Where  is  your  hus- 
band?" when  she  replied,  "  At  the  front,  with  his  armor 
on,  fighting  for  his  country,  and  not  burning  houses 
over  women  and  children." 

Col.  Rankin,  referred  to  by  our  correspondent,  and  his 
brother,  William  A. ,  were  among  the  very  few  who  had 
any  chance  for  resistance,  and  they  showed  resistance, 
and  drove  a  squad  of  them  from  their  place. 

The  concensus  of  intelligent  opinion  places  the  force  of 
Quantrill  at  from  300  to  400  men.  A  Confederate  his- 
tory entitled  "Shelby  and  his  Men,"  etc.,  gives  the 
number  at  300.  We  copy  the  following  statement  from 
Wilder's  Annals,  page  371 : 

About  daylight  on  the  morning  of  August  21,  1863,  Quantrill,  with 
three  hundred  men,  dashed  into  the  streets  of  Lawrence,  Kansas. 
Flame  and  bullet,  waste  and  pillage,  terror  and  despair  were  every- 
where. Two  hundred  were  killed.  Death  was  a  monarch,  and  men 
bowed  down  and  worshipped  him.  Blood  ran  in  rivulets.  The  guer- 
rillas were  unerring  shots  with  revolvers,  and  excellent  horsemen. 
General  Lane  saved  himself  by  flight ;  General  Collamore  took  refuge 
in  a  well,  and  died  there.  Poor  Collamore !  He  should  have  kept 
away  from  the  well  upon  the  principle  that  actuated  the  mother  who 
had  no  objections  to  her  boy  learning  how  to  swim,  if  he  didn'  t  go 
near  the  water.  Printers  and  editors  suffered.  Speer  of  the  Tribune, 
Palmer  of  the  Journal,*  Trask  of  the  State  Journal,  had  n't  time  even 

•This  is  incorrect.     Palmer  was  in  the  Tribune  office,  (a  mere  boy,) 


QUANTBILL    AVOIDED    LANE  S    ARMY. 

to  write  their  obituaries.  Two  camps  of  instruction  for  white  and 
negrot  soldiers,  on  Massachusetts  street  (of  course),  were  surrounded 
and  all  their  occupants  killed.  Every  hotel,  except  the  City  Hotel, 
was  burned.  Other  property  valued  at  two  millions  dollars,  was  also 
h'red  and  consumed.  .  .  .  Massachusetts  street  was  made 
amass  of  smouldering  ruins.  Sometimes  there  is  a  great  deal  in  a 
name, — in  this  instance  more  than  is  generally  the  case.  After  kill- 
ing every  male  inhabitant  who  remained  in  Lawrence,  after  burning 
the  houses  in  the  town  and  those  directly  around  it,  Quantrill  very 
quietly  withdrew  his  men  into  Missouri  and  rested  there,  followed, 
however,  at  a  safe  distance,  by  General  Lane,  who  made  terrible 
threats,  but  miserable  fulfillments.  Two  hundred  white  abolition- 
ists, fifty  or  sixty  negroes,  and  two  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  prop- 
erty were  fearful  aggregate  losses. 

A  careful  scrutiny  of  that  most  accurate  work,  Wil- 
der's  Annals  of  Kansas,  shows  the  significant  fact,  that, 
of  all  Quan trill's  robberies  and  murders — the  most  hor- 
rible in  the  annals  of  war — not  one  of  them  occurred 
when  Lane  had  any  military  command  whatever,  nor 
for  more  than  four  months  after  he  surrendered  all  mili- 
tary control.  The  murderers  stood  back  while  Lane's 
Brigade  protected  the  border,  and  confined  themselves  to 
murdering  Union  men  in  Missouri,  sheltered  in  the  fast- 
nesses of  the  Snibar  hills,  from  the  brambly  brush  of 
which  he  and  Upton  Hays  issued  orders  to  shoot  down 
all  men  seen  going  to  Union  posts  to  enlist. 

and  was  shot  down  at  the  door;  and  the  demons  seized  his  body  and 
hurled  it  into  the  flames  of  the  burning  building.  His  father,  who 
repaired  our  presses,  was  burned  to  ashes  in  his  shop ;  and  his 
brother,  Barney  D.,  was  then  lying  with  an  arm  shot  off  in  battle. 

t  There  were  no  colored  soldiers  there.  Captain  Leroy  J.  Beam 
was  organizing  a  company,  and  had  twenty-one  men — men  they  were, 
indeed,  in  courage  and  patriotism,  though  nearly  all  of  them  were 
from  sixteen  to  twenty  years  old — my  own  burned  and  murdered  son 
among  them,  who  was  eighteen  the  day  befoie  the  massacre.  They 
had  no  arms.  Eighteen  of  them  were  massacred — three  escaped. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

LOCATION    OF    THE    UNION    PACIFIC    RAILWAY. 

In  1864,  the  construction  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
way was  commenced  at  Wyandotte,  under  the  leadership 
of  John  C.  Fremont,  Samuel  Hallett  being  his  manager, 
and  John  D.  Perry,  a  St.  Louis  banker,  furnishing  the 
principal  portion  of  the  capital.  The  laying  of  the  track 
closely  followed  the  grading ;  and  almost  before  the 
people  had  realized  what  was  going  on,  Hallett  had 
graded  the  road  clear  past  the  city,  missing  Lawrence 
by  about  three  miles,  passing  through  the  farm  of  ex- 
Governor  Robinson,  near  the  bluff  of  the  Kansas  valley. 
It  had  also  been  surveyed  so  as  to  miss  Topeka  by  about 
the  same  distance. 

Various  consultations  were  held  among  the  Lawrence 
business  men,  both  Samuel  Hallett  and  his  brother 
Thomas,  who  was  an  engineer  and  assistant  manager, 
meeting  with  them.  Similar  action  was  taken  by  the 
people  of  Topeka,  in  which  Col.  C.  K.  Holliday  was 
conspicuous  by  his  activity  and  influence.  Samuel  Hal- 
lett insisted  that  Lawrence  and  Topeka  were  both  so  far 
out  of  a,  direct  line  that  .Congress  would  refuse  to  appro- 


A    PROPOSITION    ACCEPTED.  273 

priate  the  subsidies  granted  by  their  charter,  if  he  di- 
verted the  track  to  either  of  those  places.  Lane  and  this 
writer  held  interviews  together  with  him  both  at  Leav- 
•en  worth  and  Lawrence.  At  a  Lawrence  meeting,  Lane 
made  this  proposition  to  him  :  ' '  If  I  will  get  you  a  writ- 
ten recommendation  from  a  majority  of  the  United 
States  Senators — all  the  Republican  Senators  and  any 
others  whom  I  can — will  you  consider  that  a  sufficient 
guarantee  that  the}'  will  recognize  you  as  entitled  to  the 
subsidies  ?  and  will  you  then  locate  your  road  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Kansas  river  opposite  Lawrence  and 
Topeka?"  We  both  pressed  upon  him  the  argument, 
that,  having  urged  him  to  make  such  location,  they 
could  neither  refuse  the  appropriation  nor  investigate 
the  propriety  of  his  action.  Hallett  assented ;  and  in 
due  time,  Lane  drew  up  such  request,  and  had  it  signed 
by  every  Republican  Senator  and  several  of  the  opposi- 
tion ;  and,  in  addition,  he  capped  the  whole  article  with 
a  signature  not  promised,  that  of  President  Lincoln. 
This  is  the  letter  : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  7,  1863. 

To  MR.  SAMTEL  HALLETT,  CONTRACTOR  OF  KANSAS  BRANCH  PACIFIC 
RAILWAY  : 

We,  the  undersigned,  having  been  informed  that  Lawrence  and  To- 
peka can  be  made  points  on  the  great  National  Railroad  you  are  con- 
structing, by  an  easy  curve  and  slight  deviation  from  an  air  line,  (not 
exceeding  two  to  three  miles  inclusive,)  suggest  to  you  the  justice 
and  importance  of  running  the  road  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Kansas 
river  opposite  those  points. 

Lawrence  having  recently  been  destroyed  by  the  rebels,  and  Topeka 
being  the  seat  of  Government  of  the  State  of  Kansas,  have  peculiar 


274 


HALLETT    STILL    REFUSES    TO    COMPLY. 


claims  upon  the  Government,  and  are  entitled  to  her  fostering  care. 
These  cities,  being  the  terminus  of  other  railroads  provided  for  by  the 
Government,  will  become  valuable  feeders  to  your  road.  We  there- 
fore request  you  to  locate  the  Pacific  Railroad  as  before  suggested, 
and  oblige  Yours  respectfully, 


BEN  LOAN. 
JAMES  HARLAN. 
/.  CHANDLER. 
W.  SPRAGUE. 
JAMES  DIXON. 
ALEX.  RAMSEY. 
H.  S.  LANE. 
L.  W.  POWELL. 
J.  M.  NESMITH. 
J.  B.  HENDERSON. 
LEM'L  BOWDEN. 
EDGAR  COWAN. 
B.  F.  WADE. 
L.  F.  S.  FOSTER. 
REVERDY  JOHNSON. 
J.  C.  TEN  EYCK. 
S.  C.  DAILY. 


J.  H.  LANE. 

S.    C.    PoMEROY. 

A.  C.  WILDER,  M.  C. 
H.  WILSON. 

M.  S.  WILKINSON. 
TIM.  O.  HOWE. 

B.  F.  HARDING. 

P.  G.  VON  WIMPLE. 
W.  L.  WILLEY. 
Tuos.  A.  HENDRICKS. 
H.  P.  BARNETT,  M.  C. 
CHAS.  SIGNER. 
JOHN  P.  HALE. 
DAN'L  CLARK. 
SOLOMON  FOOTE. 
JOHN  SHERMAN. 
E.  D.  MORGAN. 
II.   B.  ANTHONY. 

A.  LINCOLN. 


IRA  HARRIS. 

I  cordially  endorse  the  foregoing. 
Notwithstanding  all  these  endorsements  and  promises, 
Hallett  still  persisted  in  refusing  to  locate  the  road  as 
agreed  to,  and  was  determined  that  Lawrence  or  Douglas 
county  should  bond  herself  to  the  amount  of  three  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  as  a  condition  precedent  to  such 
location  ;  and  he  came  to  me  with  an  article  of  about 
one  column,  urging  such  donation,  and  offering  me  one 
hundred  dollars  to  publish  it  in  the  Kansas  Daily  and 
Weekly  Tribune,  which  I  refused  with  contempt. 

Not  only  did  Lane  do  this,  but  he  got  a  law  passed 


A    PROPOSAL    SPURNED    WITH    INDIGNATION.  275 

authorizing,  but  not  compelling,  the  company  to  locate 
their  road  by  Lawrence  and  Topeka,  Congress  holding 
that  a  compulsory  law  would  interfere  with  vested 
rights ;  and  still  Hallett  refused.  In  this  crisis,  as  a 
last  resort,  to  save  the  destruction  of  our  city,  a  few  of 
the  business  men  of  Lawrence,  among  them  George 
Ford,  Peter  D.  Ridenour,  C.  W.  Babcock,  B.  W.  Wood- 
ward and  others,  met  and  selected  the  writer  to  go  to 
Washington  and  urge  Senator  Lane  to  protect  them 
against  the  impending  ruin  to  the  city. 

At  Lane's  room,  I  met  Samuel  Hallett  and  John  D. 
Perry,  the  latter  then  President  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railway.  They  called  upon  Lane  at  his  room,  and  said 
to  him  that  they  had  determined  not  to  change  the  loca- 
tion of  their  road  at  Lawrence,  unless  the  people  would 
vote  them  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Lane  was 
lying  upon  his  bed  when  this  proposition  was  made. 
His  eyes  flashed  with  indignation  and  contempt,  as  he 
raised  himself  up  and  replied  :  ' '  Before  you  get  a  dollar 
out  of  that  burned  and  murdered  town,*  you  will  take 
up  every  stump,  and  every  old  log  you  have  buried  in 
your  grade  to  save  money,  and  stone-ballast  every  rod  to 
Lawrence  ;  and  even  then,  when  you  get  your  first  sub- 
sidies, let  Jim  Lane  know!"  They  attempted  argu- 
ment. He  waved  his  hand:  "No  words,  gentlemen — 
no  words."  I  was  scared.  I  thought  he  ought  to  have 
listened  to  them.  He  simply  remarked:  "They  will 
want  to  see  me  worse  to-morrow  than  they  did  to-day." 

*  This  was  less  than  a  year  after  the  Lawrence  Massacre. 


27B  THE    DOCUMENTS    SIGNED. 

The  next  day  I  met  him  with  a  broad  grin  on  his  coun- 
tenance ;  and  his  first  words  were:  "  Hallett  has  been 
to  see  me."  "  Well,  with  what  result  ?"  "I  told  him 
Mr.  Perry  was  a  positive  man,  and  so  was  I.  They  will 
want  to  see  me  worse  to-morrow  than  they  did  to-day." 
The  next  day,  I  met  him  crossing  Pennsylvania  avenue, 
and  he  said  :  ' '  Perry  and  Hallett  have  been  to  see  me , 
and  I  have  their  joint  agreement  in  writing  to  locate  the 
road  to  the  bank  of  the  river  opposite  Lawrence  and  To- 
peka ;  and  I  am  just  going  to  the  telegraph  office  to 
send  a  dispatch  to  so  locate  it  at  Lawrence."  The  dis- 
patch read : 

WASHINGTON,  June  13,  1864. 
JOHN*  L.  HALLETT,  Wyandotte,  Kansas: 

The  road  is  to  be  located  as  near  the  river  bank  opposite  Lawrence 
as  good  depot  grounds  can  be  found.  Survey  and  locate  accordingly. 

SAMUEL  HALLETT. 

Here  follows  the  correspondence  between  Hallett  and 
Lane,  settling  the  whole  question  : 

WASHINGTON*,  June  13,  1864. 

Hon.  J.  H.  LANE — Dear  Sir:  An  inquiry  into  the  wishes  of  the  Gov- 
ernment and  all  the  facts  in  the  case  has  induced  me  to  adopt  your 
suggestion  in  locating  the  main  line  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway, 
E.  D.,  so  that  it  shall  approach  the  Kansas  river  at  the  nearest  practi 
cable  points  opposite  Lawrence  and  Topeka.  I  shall  telegraph  my 
brother  to  so  make  the  location. 

SAMUEL  HALLETT, 

General  Manager  U.  P.  Railway,  E.  D. 

SENATE  CHAMBER,  June  13,  1864. 

SAMUEL  HALLETT,  Esq. — Sir:  Accept  my  thanks  and  those  of  my 
constituents  for  the  determination  you  have  reached,  as  communi- 
cated in  your  note  of  this  day.  This  removes  all  obstacles  to  my 


INFLUENCE    ON    THE    ORIGINAL   LOCATION.  277 

hearty  aud  .earnest  co-operation  with  you  in  obtaining  such  legisla- 
tion as  is  desired — acting  with  you  at  home  in  all  things  connected 
with  the  early  completion  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  and  branches. 

Yours,  J.  H.  LANE. 

The  two  infant  cities,  Lawrence  and  Topeka,  were  en- 
tirely at  the  mercy  of  Hallett,  as  is  shown  in  the  desper- 
ate efforts  necessary  for  their  protection  ;  and  but  for 
Lane,  the  cities  or  counties  would  each  have  been  com- 
pelled to  issue  not  less  than  a  quarter  of  a"  million  of 
bonds  for  the  protection  of  their  rights. 

To  help  the  enemies  of  Lane  in  their  efforts  to  show 
his  influence  over  Lincoln,  I  will  here  state  the  incon- 
testable fact,  that  the  original  draft  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  bill  contemplated  but  one  road  from  the  Mis- 
souri river  westward,  the  initial  point  to  be  selected  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  ;  and  that  this  was 
an  embarrassing  duty  put  upon  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  would 
have  been  expected  to  favor  Chicago  in  preference  to  St. 
Louis,  and  that  largely  to  Lane's  management,  and  the 
President's  anxiety  to  unload  a  burthen,  was  Kansas 
indebted  for  the  location  of  that  great  artery  of  trade 
upon  her  soil  at  all,  including  both  the  Kansas  valley 
route  and  the  Central  Branch  from  Atchison. 

One  bright  forenoon,  about  10  o'clock,  as  I  was  walk- 
ing down  Three-and-a-half  street,  Washington,  with 
him,  Lane  suddenly  struck  a  stage  attitude,  and  point- 
ing his  long  bony  finger  to  the  sun,  exclaimed  :  ' 4  That 
is  the  most  important  sun  that  has  ever  arisen  upon 
Kansas.  Before  that  sun  goes  down,  an  enterprise  will 


278  UNTOLD    MILLIONS    FOR    KANSAS. 

have  been  accomplished,  which  will  bring  untold  rail- 
lions  of  dollars  to  Kansas,  and  make  her  one  of  the 
greatest  Commonwealths  of  the  American  Union." 
That  afternoon  the  Pacific  Railroad  bill  passed  the 
Senate. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

THE    SECOND    NOMINATION    OF    LINCOLN. 

Early  in  this  campaign,  Mr.  Lincoln  recognized  the 
necessity  for  an  opening  speech  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
and  selected  Lane  to  deliver  an  address  at  Cooper  Insti- 
tute. Happening  to  be  in  Washington,  he  invited  me 
to  accompany  the  party,  among  whom  were  Judge  Ed- 
munds and  a  very  distinguished  Methodist  preacher, 
whose  name  I  cannot  recollect.  Although  the  afternoon 
and  night  sat  in  with  one  of  the  severest  storms  I  ever 
witnessed,  the  hall  was  well  filled.  The  venerable  Sim- 
eon Draper  presided  ;  and  Gen.  Lane  made  as  acceptable 
a  speech  as  Mr.  Lincoln  himself  had  previously  made 
from  the  same  stand. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  I  hurried  home  from 
Washington,  to  aid  in  securing  the  election  of  Gen.  Lane 
as  a  Delegate  in  the  National  Convention  which  was  to 
assemble  at  Baltimore  June  7,  1864,  and  to  aid  also  in 
his  selection  as  a  Delegate  to  the  Grand  Council  of  the 
Union  League,  which  was  to  meet  on  the  day  previous 
to  the  National  Convention .  The  State  Convention  met 
April  21,  and  Lane  was  elected  a  Delegate.  Subse 


280  NO    BRASS    BANDS NO    REPORTERS. 

quently  I  was  in  the  Union  League  Convention  at  Leav- 
en worth,  where  he  was  elected  a  Delegate  to  the  Grand 
Council,  and  I  carried  the  credentials  to  him  at  Balti- 
more, and  was  myself  a  Delegate. 

It  was  a  terrible  body  in  its  malignity  towards  the 
President.  Fortunately  I  am  saved  the  attempt  to  de- 
scribe it.  That  eminent  statesman  and  author,  Hon. 
W.  O.  Stoddard,  who  was  Lincoln's  Private  Secretary, 
and  who  wrote  a  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  "  Lives  of  the  Pres- 
idents," and  many  other  works,  both  in  prose  and  poe- 
try, has  given  its  history  most  graphically,  (see  "  Story 
of  a  Nomination,"  North  American  Review,  1884,  Vol. 
136,  p.  263,)  from  wrhich  I  quote  : 

The  Grand  Council  assembled  at  an  early  hour,  and  its  doors  were 
sternly  closed  to  all  but  those  with  absolute  right  to  enter.  The 
Grand  Council  was  a  dignifiedly  simple  gathering.  There  were  no 
press  reporters  present.  No  brass  band  made  music.  Xo  time  was 
lost  in  preliminary  or  other  organization,  and  no  committees  were 
required.  The  ample  platform  contained  only  three  men — the  Grand 
President  and  the  Grand  Recording  and  Corresponding  Secretaries. 
There  was  all  the  more  time  for  the  transaction  of  business,  and  this 
began  the  moment  the  meeting  was  called  to  order.  There  had  been 
both  preparation  and  consultation  among  the  intending  assailants  of 
the  Administration.  These  arose  to  speak  in  rapid,  but  not  in  con- 
flicting succession,  in  different  parts  of  the  hall.  Perhaps  the  severest 
attack  upon  the  President  and  the  conduct  of  the  war  was  made  by 
one  of  the  United  States  Senators  from  Missouri ;  but  there  were 
others  whom  he  little  surpassed  in  vehemence.  The  charges  made 
were  appalling,  and  it  was  well  that  their  eloquent  utterance  was  to 
form  no  part  of  the  published  proceedings  of  the  Baltimore  Conven- 
tion. Had  they  been  openly  uttered  in  the  convention,  to  go  forth  to 
the  country,  whether  they  were  true  or  false,  that  body  could  after- 
ward reached  no  peaceful  agreement  by  ballot,  nor  could  it  have 


TIIK    FALSE    HAD    DOXE    ITS    WORST.  281 

adopted  any  platform  of  resolutions  upon  which  it  could  have  placed 
Abraham  Lincoln  before  the  people  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 
There  were  not  many  faults  possible  to  the  ruler  of  a  free  people 
whereof  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  accused,  before  the  excited  patriots 
made  an  end  of  their  "speeches  for  the  prosecution"  of  the  public 
criminal  whose  course  in  office  they  were  denouncing. 

Once  more  it  seemed  as  if  a  rising  tide  were  sweeping  all  l>efore  it. 
Not  a  voice  had  been  raised  in  defense  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  This  may 
have  been,  in  part,  from  lack  of  opportunity.  The  Grand  President, 
Judge  Edmunds,  was  a  devoted  friend  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  yet,  as  if 
with  malice  aforethought,  he  sat  there  behind  his  desk  on  the  raised 
platform,  calmly  "  recognizing,"  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Grand 
Council,  only  the  known  enemies  of  his  friend,  until  it  seemed  as  if 
most  of  them  must  have  been  heard. 

There  came  a  lull  in  the  storm,  and  "  Jim  "  Lane  of  Kansas  arose, 
near  the  front,  in  the  middle  aisle  of  the  hall.  He  was  instantly  rec- 
ognized by  the  chairman  ;  but  he  stood  in  silence  fora  moment,  until 
he  had  deliberately  turned  around  and  looked  all  over  the  room. 
The  substance  of  his  remarks  was  nearly  as  follows : 

"Mr.  President,  Gentlemen  of  the  Grand  Council:  For  a  man  to 
produce  pain  in  another  man  by  pressing  upon  a  wounded  spot  re- 
quires no  great  degree  of  strength,  and  he  who  presses  is  not  entitled 
to  any  emotion  of  triumph  at  the  agony  expressed  by  the  sufferer. 
Neither  skill  nor  wisdom  has  been  exercised  in  the  barbaric  process. 
For  a  man,  an  orator,  to  produce  an  effect  upon  sore  and  wears 
hearts,  gangrened  with  many  hurts,  worn  out  with  many  sacrifices, 
sick  with  long  delays,  broken  with  bitter  disappointments;  so  stir- 
ring them  up,  even  to  passion  and  to  folly,  demands  no  high  degree 
of  oratorical  ability.  It  is  an  easy  thing  to  do,  as  we  have  seen  this 
evening.  Almost  anybody  can  do  it. 

"  For  a  man  to  take  such  a  crowd  as  this  now  is,  so  sore  and  sick  at 
heart,  and  now  so  stung  and  aroused  to  passionate  folly  ;  now  so  in- 
fused with  a  delusive  hope  for  the  future,  as  well  as  with  false  and 
unjust  thoughts  concerning  the  past;  for  a  man  to  addre>s  himself  to 
such  an  assembly,  and  turn  the  tide  of  its  passion  and  excitement  in 
the  opposite  direction  ;  that  were  a  task  worthy  of  the  highest,  great- 


282  NOW    LKT    THE    TKl'TH    BE    SET    FORTH. 

est  effort  of  humnn  oratory.  I  am  no  orator  at  all ;  but  to  precisely 
that  task  have  I  now  set  myself,  with  absolute  certainty  of  success. 
All  that  is  needful  is  that  the  truth  should  be  set  forth  plainly,  now 
lhat  the  false  has  done  its  worst." 

He  had  gained  in  a  minute  all  that  could  IK*  won  in  an  audacity 
bordering  upon  arrogance.  Uapid  and  vivid  sketches  followed,  pre- 
senting in  detail  the  leading  features  of  the  history  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
Administration.  Each  was  made  complete  in  itself,  and  at  the  end  of 
each  chapter  came  some  variation  of  this  formula  : 

"I  am  speaking  individually  to  eacli  man  here.  Do  you,  sir,  know- 
in  this  broad  land,  and  can  you  name  to  me,  one  man  whom  you  could 
or  would  trust,  before  God,  that  lie  would  have  done  better  in  this 
matter  than  Abraham  Lincoln  has  done,  and  to  whom  you  would  be 
now  more  willing  to  trust  the  unforeseen  emergency  or  peril  which 
is  to  come  ?  That  unforeseen  peril,  that  perplexing  emergency,  that 
step  in  the  dark,  is  right  before  us,  and  we  are  here  to  decide  by 
whom  it  should  be  made  for  the  Nation.  Name  your  other  man." 

Very  little  time  was  wasted  upon  the  general  list  of  charges;  for 
they  had  spent  themselves  in  making;  but  a  masterly  picture  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  long-suffering,  patience,  faithful  toil,  utter  unselfishness, 
and  of  the  great  advances  already  gained  under  his  leadership,  was 
followed  by  a  sudden  transfer  of  the  thoughts  of  all  to  the  scene  in 
the  great  wigwam  on  the  morrow: 

'•  We  shall  come  together  to  be  watched,  in  breathless  listening,  by 
«11  this  country — by  all  the  civilized  world, — and  if  we  shall  seem  to 
waver  as  to  our  set  purpose,  we  destroy  hope;  and  if  we  permit  pri- 
vate feeling,  as  to-night,  to  break  forth  into  discussion,  we  discuss 
•defeat;  and  if  we  nominate  any  other  man  than  Abraham  Lincoln, 
W3  nominate  ruin.  Gentlemen  of  the  (Irand  Council  of  the  Union 
League,  I  have  done." 

The  Senator  sat  down,  but  no  man  arose  to  reply.  His  speech  had 
not  been  a  very  long  one,  but  it  had  been  enough  to  accomplish  all 
he  had  proposed  for  it.  The  resolution  approving  the  administration 
•was  adopted  with  but  few  dissenting  voices,  many  not  voting.  An- 
other vote  declared  the  voice  of  the  Union  League  to  be  in  favor  of 
President  Lincoln's  re-election,  and  the  greatest  political  peril  then 


T1IK    (JKAXD    COt'NCIL    DIM    THK    WO  UK.  2Sl> 

threatening  the  United  States  had  disappeared.  Thirty  days  later,  it 
would  have  been  a  hard  task  to  find  a  man  who  would  confess  to  hav- 
ing ever  entertained  a  doubt  as  to  that  result ;  but  then  the  delegates 
to  the  Grand  Council  were  not  in  a  position  to  make  remarks  or  an- 
swer questions. 

On  adjourning  the  Convention,  Judge  Edmunds  said  : 
"  Gentlemen  of  the  Grand  Council :  The  work  of  to- 
morrow is  done.  Abraham  Lincoln  is  as  certainly  nom- 
inated to-night  as  if  the  vote  of  the  National  Convention 
were  counted." 

I  was  upon  the  floor  of  the  Convention  early,  and  oc- 
cupied a  prominent  seat  with  the  Ohio  delegation. 
Lane,  Judge  Edmunds,  and  a  distinguished  Methodist 
minister,  whose  name  I  cannot  remember,  prepared 
some  of  the  resolutions. 

To  me,  it  looked  as  if  a  good  deal  of  the  acrimony  of 
the  Grand  Council  seemed  about  to  break  out,  and  "  dis- 
cuss defeat."  Gov.  Stone,  of  Iowa,  was  expected  to  lead 
off  for  Lincoln,  and  he  secured  a  prominent  position 
with  Lane  near  him — that  is,  the  delegations  of  Iowa 
and  Kansas — and  there  was  no  doubt  of  the  determined 
effort  to  adopt  the  strategy  of  the  previous  night.  When 
Stone  arose,  the  storm  commenced.  Five  years  ago,  I 
met  him  in  the  General  Land  Office  at  Washington,  of 
which  he  was  then  Deputy  Commissioner ;  and  when  I 
reminded  him  of  witnessing  his  successful  efforts  for 
Lincoln,  he  grew  eloquent  in  his  recital  of  the  crisis, 
and  was  especially  complimentary  to  the  Kansas  delega- 
tion, remarking  that,  above  the  uproar,  he  could  hear 


284  'LINCOLN    FOR    A    SOITHEKN    MAN. 

the  clarion  voice  of  Jim  Lane,  exclaiming,  "  Stand  your 
ground,  Stone!  stand  your  ground!  Great  God,  Stone, 
Kansas  will  stand  by  you  !" 

As  an  interesting  historical  reminiscence,  I  think  it 
may  be  safely  stated  that  President  Lincoln  desired  the 
nomination  of  Andrew  Johnson  for  Vice  President.  I 
know  that  Lane  was  for  him,  and  he  was  in  such  accord 
with  Lincoln  that  he  would  not  have  run  counter  to  his 
wishes.  The  late  Hon.  John  Hutchings,  just  before  his 
death,  sent  for  me.  In  the  course  of  conversation,  he 
said,  substantially :  "  Do  you  remember  about  a  half 
dozen  of  us,  in  consultation  with  Lane,  early  in  18(5 4, 
when  the  Vice  Presidency  was  referred  to,  and  the  party, 
almost  unanimously  responded,  '  Oh,  Hamlin,  of  course  ;' 
but  Lane  said  :  '  No— Andrew  Johnson.  Mr.  Lincoln 
does  not  want  to  interfere  ;  but  he  feels  that  we  must 
recognize  the  South  in  kindness.  The  nominee  will  be 
Andy  Johnson?'  '  Lane  was  largely  a  factor  in  secur- 
ing that  nomination. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

THE    PRICE    RAID    AND    THE    POLITICAL    CAMPAICX    OF   1S<>I. 

The  Price  Raid  and  the  political  campaign  of  1864 
were  pretty  closely  connected — so  closely  that  Lane's 
gallantry  and  efficiency  in  the  former  decided  the  latter  ; 
in  fact,  warded  oft'  a  most  fearful  calamity. 

About  the  first  of  October,  1864,  Gen.  Lane  was  in  St. 
Louis.  Perhaps  his  knowledge  of  the  position  of  the 
enemy  might  have  led  him  there  for  observation.  He 
was  perplexed  over  the  political  situation,  unpopular 
nominations  having  been  made  for  the  State  ticket  in  a 
canvass  in  which  his  re-election  to  the  Senate  was  pend- 
ing ;  and  but  for  the  Price  raid  and  his  noble  actions  in 
it,  his  defeat  seemed  inevitable.  Whatever  the  cause 
may  have  been,  he  returned  in  great  anxiety  for  the 
safety  of  Kansas,  and  boldly  and  energetically  declared 
that  Price's  objective  point  was  Kansas,  and  his  pur- 
pose the  destruction  of  Kansas  City,  Lawrence,  Leaven- 
worth,  Fort  Leaven  worth  and  all  its  military  stores ; 
and  his  plans  were  to  move  inward,  destroy  Topeka,  and 
plunder  all  the  towns  of  Kansas,  and  supply  his  army 
with  the  products  of  her  farms.  Gen.  Curtis  was  in 


280  REFUSING    TO    KNTKU    MISSOURI. 

command  of  the  district,  headquarters  at  Fort  Leaveu- 
worth,  and  Gen.  Sykes  was  at  Lawrence — an  easy-goin^ 
man,  in  the  hands  of  Lane's  enemies.  Sykes  was  re- 
moved by  Lane,  as  his  enemies  alleged,  and  his  friends 
admitted,  and  those  gallant  leaders,  Gen.  Blunt,  with 
Cols.  Plumb,  Moonlight  and  a  hosjt  of  men  of  iron  will 
and  undaunted  courage,  took  the  place  of  milk-and-water 
men  in  politics  and  nonentities  in  war.  There  were  con- 
spirators in  those  days,  who  would  rather  rule  in  the 
camps  of  the  enemy  than  serve  in  the  Union  cause. 
They  were  active.  They  organi/ed  "  a  fire  in  the  rear." 
Mercenary  writers  prepared  articles  denouncing  Lane  as 
an  impostor;  and  when  Gen.  Curtis  issued  a  proclama- 
tion declaring  martial  law,  and  ordering  every  man  of 
Kansas  into  the  field  from  sixteen  to  sixty  years  old, 
their  conspiracy  for  a  time  threatened  mutiny.  A  noted 
article  published  in  the  Leavenworth  Times  and  Law- 
rence Journal,  (not  by  either  of  the  present  proprie- 
tors,) entitled  "  How  Long,  Oh  Lord,  How  Long?"  was 
prepared  by  the  conspirators  and  circulated  with  a  view 
to  prevent  organization  for  defense.  It  alleged  that  Lin- 
coln was  deceived  by  Lane,  whose  tyranny  was  oppress- 
ing the  people  and  eating  out  their  substance.  It 
denied  that  there  was  any  purpose  of  invasion,  and  bur- 
lesqued "  Lane  at  Hickman's  Mills,"  an  outpost  in  Mis- 
souri. The  effect  of  that  and  other  articles  was  to  im- 
pede the  army  being  raised  to  meet  Price.  They  had 
emissaries  as  camp-followers  pleading  the  unconstitution- 
ality  of  leading  the  Kansas  militia  across  the  State  line. 


CURTIS    MADE    NO    MISTAKK    OX     LAXK.  287 

They  induced  two  regiments  to  desert.  They  absolutely, 
through  their  influence,  halted  the  Array  of  the  Union 
at  the  line  of  Missouri,  while  the  timid  were  pleading  for 
their  lives  not  to  be  compelled  to  cross  the  border.  But 
for  that  influence,  the  ravages  of  Kansas,  the  burning  of 
barns,  houses,  hay  and  grain,  if  committed  at  all,  would 
have  been  perpetrated  in  Missouri.  There  was  no  dis- 
count upon  the  loyalty  of  Gen.  Curtis ;  but  he  was  an 
old  man,  lacking  in  some  degree  the  energy  and  endur- 
ance for  the  crisis,  and  the  calumnies  of  the  conspirators 
were  heaped  upon  Lane  as  the  leading  spirit  in  that 
rally  for  the  lives  and  property  of  all  Kansas.  The  accu- 
sation stands  as  a  truth  of  Heaven  attesting  Lane's  loy- 
alty, energy,  love  of  his  State  and  his  country  ;  and  the 
vouchers  in  the  archives  of  the  State,  still  unpaid,  for 
over  $400,000  worth  of  the  property  of  the  people,  stand 
as  an  everlasting  memorial  of  infamy  against  the  men 
who  thwarted  the  Union  armies  in  their  march,  and  a 
testimony  to  Lane  for  having  saved  the  State.  That  lie 
was  the  leader  then,  and  wholly  responsible,  is  the  only 
case  in  which  his  friends  and  his  enemies  fully  agreed. 
Gen.  Curtis  was  an  able  man,  a  heroic  soldier,  a  Colonel 
in  the  Mexican  war,  and  well  knew  Lane's  record  for 
efficiency  and  ability.  His  commendations  of  him  after 
the  campaign  showed  he  had  made  no  mistake. 

We  make  various  quotations,  showing  the  situation 
and  the  different  views  of  citizens  of  all  classes,  in  this 
trying  crisis  of  Kansas  history,  with  extracts  from  pa- 
pers of  the  period : 


'288  WAR    NOTES    OF    ALARM. 

From  Rebellion  Records;  Series  1,  Vol.  XLI,  Part  I V,  page  120. 

CAMP  AT  Sn  \\VXKK,  Mo.,  October  19,  1864. 
GKNKRAI.  CTRTIS: 

1  arrivetl  here  this  evening,  and  I  find  considerable  restlessness 
amo.ig  the  tioops.  An  impression  is  being  created  that  all  danger  is 
over,  and  with  some  persons  there  are,  in  my  opinion,  efforts  being 
made  to  dissuade  the  militia  from  crossing  the  line  ;  and  if  there  is  » 
necessity  to  keep  the  Kansas  men  in  the  field,  such  impressions  are 
calculated  to  demorali/.e  them.  The  men  generally  say,  as  far  a*  I 
have  heard,  that  they  either  want  to  go  into  Missouri,  or  go  home.  I 
believe  the  removal  across  that  scare-crow  to  some,  "  the  line."  would 
be  greeted  with  hearty  applause  by  a  vast  majority. 

Excuse  my  presumption  in  addressing  you,  as  you  know  I  claim  no 
knowledge  of  military  matters,  and  I  only  write  this  because  Major 
Charlott  told  me  to-day  that  any  impression  that  danger  was  over 

was  not  only  false,  but  pernicious  and  dangerous. 

Joirx  SPKRK. 

IXDKPKXDKXCK.  Mo.,  ( )ct.  19,  1864. 

GKXKRAL  DAviEs:  There  is  no  earthly  use  of  forces  at  Atchison, 
AVhy  are  they  not  pressed  down  ?  By  whose  order  are  they  kept 
there?  Did  you  arrest  that  Colonel,  as  I  directed?  You  must  not 
issue  supplies  to  troops  that  evade  my  orders. 

S.  R.  Ci'KTis,  Major  General. 

Gen.  Davies  replied  that  he  had  sent  after  "  that  col- 
onel," and  would  telegraph  the  Provost-Marshal  for  his 
arrest. 

From  Reb.  Rec.  Series  1.  Vol.  XLI,  l.'art  IV,  page  117. 

FOKT  LKAVKXWOKTII.  Oct.  19,  18(54. 
Major  General  CIKTIS,  Independence: 

Lieutenant  Wheeler  thinks  Gen.  Sherry  will  obey  orders  from  you, 
and  so  will  his  men,  and  will  undoubtedly  if  it  comes  through  Major 
General  Deitzler.  I  have  ordered  .r),<XX)  blankets  and  5,(KK)  shelter 
tents  turned  over  to  Captain  Seelye.  They  leave  on  the  Benton  at 
daylight,  with  forty  tons  of  commissary  stores.  Col.  Wheeler  will 

go  down  in  the  morning. 

S.  S.  CrKTis,  Major  and  Aide-de-Camp. 


ALL,    BLACK    AND    WHITK,    ORDKKRI»    OUT.  289 

IXDKPKXDRXfE,  <  >Ct.    19.   1««4. 

Hox.  SKXATOK  POMKKOY,  Kansas  City  or  Wyandotte: 

General  Da  vies  informs  me  there  are  1,650  troops*  at  Atchitton  send- 
ing for  supplies.  I  wish  you  would  find  out  the  cause  of  this  outrage- 
ous delay.  I  have  just  received  a  dispatch  from  St.  Joseph  informing 
me  that  the  rebels  evacuated  Carrol  ton  yesterday,  and  went  toward 
Richmond,  Kay  county,  and  eastward.  There  is  no  ground  for  scare, 
[at  Atchison,]  and  I  suspect  political  folly  has  induced  this  effort  to 
keep  back  troops.  I  hope  you  will  denounce  it  everywhere.  The 
scout  who  separated  from  .Major  Smith  going  south  has  come  in.  He 
reports  all  the  rebel  bands  are  called  in  to  help  fight.  Price  is  near 
AVaverly.  If  he  whips  or  is  successful,  we  ought  to  be  ready  to  meet 
any  movement  this  way.  S.  R.  CCKTIS,  Major  General. 

Ill  the  same  pages  are  orders  to  Captain  R.  J.  Hint  on 
to  bring  in  colored  troops  from  Leave n worth,  Wyandotte 
and  other  points  ;  and  also  commands  to  farmers  within 
a  radius  of  ten  miles  from  Lexington,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Missouri  river,  to  bring  in  supplies  of  hay,  corn, 
etc.,  and  deliver  to  H.  F.  Simpson,  chief  Quartermaster : 
and  ordering  all  male  persons,  black  and  white,  from 
the  ages  of  fifteen  to  sixty,  into  the  defense. 

When  these  attacks  were  being  made,  where  was  Lane, 
and  what  was  he  doing?  "Where  is  Price  ?"  was  his 
inquiry ;  and  he  was  taking  the  most  practical  way  to 
find  out ;  and  he  had  "  felt "  him  two  days  before  the 
thrust  of  these  enemies  had  been  uttered. 

Tho  same  day,  Gen.  Curtis  sends  a  message  to  (ii-n. 
T.  J.  McKeon,  Paola,  Kansas:  "The  Pawpaws  have 
gone  to  the  brush,  and  we  expected  that."  The  Paw- 
paws were  generally  the  enrolled  Missouri  militia,  bush- 
whacking Union  soldiers  on  Government  pay. 


L'!  <>  THK    (JKIM    CHIEFTAIN     DID    IT    ALL. 

The   preceding   show   the    general    apprehensions  of 
danger,  as  well  as  confidence  in  Gen.  Lane. 

From  the  Kansas  Tribune,  Nov.  2,  1864. 

The  Leavenworth  Times  teemed  with  articles  denouncing  Curtis 
and  trying  to  break  up  the  army.  Its  thunders  were  denounced  against 
Lane  as  Curtis'  adviser. 

The  Journal  [Lawrence]  had  articles  ridiculing  the  idea  that  Kan- 
sas was  in  danger.  See  its  Weekly  of  Octol>er  20.  Its  leader  asks, 
"  Where  is  Price?"  and  reiterates,  "  Where  is  Price  ?"  and  again, 
in  mock  agony,  exclaims,  "Where  is  he?" 

Does  any  man  doubt,  that  without  the  call  for  the  militia,  Kansas 
would  have  been  burned  over  ?  Would  there  have  been  a  house  left 
in  Lawrence?  Think  of  the  sufferings  in  Linn  county,  where  Price 
passed  over  in  flight  with  an  army  in  hot  pursuit,  and  seriously  ask 
yourself,  reader,  what  would  have  resulted  from  the  victorious  tread 
of  the  rebel  hordes  over  all  Southern  Kansas  ?  Our  citizens  have 
been  raising  contributions  for  women  and  children  left  destitute 
even  of  bedding? 

Who  saved  us?  Our  opponents  say  Lane  did;  and  so  far  as  Lane's 
influence  went  in  calling  out  the  militia,  it  is  the  only  truth  they  ever 
told  of  him.  Hear  the  Journal  of  the  20th  October,  [1864:] 

"We  pity  the  Grim  Chieftain,  now  at  Hickman's  Mills,  searching 
for  an  opportunity  to  get  up  a  bogus  reputation,  if  Price  has  actually 
fled.  He  [Lane]  CAMR  FROM  THK  EAST  VERY  MUCK  ALARMED — ACTTALLY 
SCARED.  He  went  to  the  Fort — Sykes  was  removed.  Called  upon  the 
Governor  for  militia,  martial  law  declared,  militia  called  out — he 
appointed  Aide-de-camp." 

If  his  slanderers  ever  told  the  truth,  how  happy  for  our  glorious 
State,  that  "  he  went  to  the  Fort !"  How  happy  that  the  effect  of  his 
liis  going  to  the  Fort  [Leavenworth]  resulted  in  ''calling  out  the 
militia!"  To  those  glorious  and  gallant  militia,  thus  called  out,  are 
our  people  indebted  for  the  salvation  of  the  State. 

The  Journal  further,  in  the  same  article,  uses  this  language: 

"Our  militia  have  been  to  Lexington,  [Mo.,]  and  have  scoured  the 
country  from  the  Kansas  border  to  that  locality.  Xo  force  of  the 


PRICE    DRIVEN    FROM     KANSAS.  291 

enemy  can  be  found.  He  is  not  anywhere  in  that  region.  All  the 
stories  we  have  heard  [from  Curtis  and  Lane]  have  turned  out  to  be 
great  exaggerations.  Wherever  our  militia  go,  whether  at  Independ- 
ence or  Lexington,  they  find  that  a  big  scare  appears  to  have  existed 
on  a  very  slight  foundation." 
Thus  much  for  the  efforts  at  home  to  call  back  the  militia. 

Think  of  the  peril !  The  epitome  in  Wilder's  Annals 
speaks  thus  : 

October  20, 1884.  Engagement  at  Lexington,  Mo.,  and  »etreat  to 
the  Little  Blue. 

October  21.  Battle  along  the  Little  Blue ;  fall  back  to  Big  Blue, 
six  miles  east  of  Kansas  City.  Price  and  his  whole  army  engaged. 

<>ctol>er  22.     Battle  of  the  Big  Blue  ;  Union  victory. 
Citizens  of  Kansas   [mostly  militia]   now  under  arms  estimated   to 
number  20,000. 

October  23.  Battle  of  Westport.  Defeat  and  retreat  of  Price.  Col. 
Moonlight  moves  down  the  Kansas  border  in  advance. 

October  24.  Near  West  Point  the  rebels  come  into  Kansas,  in  Linn 
county,  and  camp  at  the  Trading  Post,  on  the  Marais  du  Cygne — his- 
toric ground. 

October  25.  The  Rebels  driven  from  the  Trading  Post.  On  the 
north  bank  of  Mine  Creek,  Price,  Fagan  and  Marmaduke,  with  15,000 
men,  form  a  line  of  battle.  Kansas  meets  and  routs  them,  the  Rebels 
falling  back  in  wild  disorder.  Generals  Marmaduke,  Cabell,  Slem- 
mon  and  Graham  captured.  McXeal  puts  them  to  flight  in  Bourbon 
county,  and  they  run  from  Kansas.  Gen.  Curtis  rescinds  martial  law. 

When  the  attacks  were  being  made  on  Lane,  where 
was  he,  and  what  was  lie  doing  ?  His  inquiry,  too,  was, 
"  Where  is  Price  ?' '  and  he  was  taking  the  most  practical 
mode  of  finding  out.  Here  is  one  of  his  ways  : 

LAWKKM-K,  Oct.  10,  1864. 
Major  CHARLOTT,  Fort  Leavenworth: 

Have  any  news?  J.  H.  LANK. 

And  instantly  the  reply  came  back,  tick,  tick,  tick  • 


292  COL.    ANTHONY    ADVISED    TO    ' '  BH'STKR.  " 

FORT  LKAVKNWORTII,  Oct.  10,  1864. 

No  news.  Can't  get  nny  connection  east  of  Independence,  [Mo.,] 
since  last  evening  5:30  o'clock.  All  actively  preparing  for  a  forward 
movement.  Blunt  left  for  Olathe  last  night  at  6  o'clock. 

C.  S.  CHARI.OTT,  Major  and  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

To  a  man  who  had  seen  the  rebels  around  Independ- 
ence, this  was  a  volume  of  news.  To  Lane's  enemies 
who  couldn't  find  Price,  it  had  no  meaning  at  all.  To 
Lane,  it  meant  that  the  rebels  were  in  the  brush  cutting 
telegraph  wires,  preparing  the  way  for  Price,  and  that 
Blunt  was  on  the  alert  to  meet  them. 

Here  is  a  note  of  great  significance  : 
COLONEL  ANTHONY,  Leavenworth: 

Your  paper  speaks  of  3,000  being  ready  in  the  city.  Do  not  give 
clue  to  numbers.  If  anything  be  said,  talk  of  25,000  or  30,000.  We 
must  depend  a  good  deal  on  bluster  till  we  get  stronger  than  we  are. 
The  whole  enrollment  of  militia  in  the  State  is  over  23,000. 

S.  R.  CTRTIS,  Major  General. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  read  the  Colonel's  next 
paper;  but  the  presumption  is  that  he  didn't  fail  to 
"  bluster."  Anthony  was  true  as  steel. 

Eight  days  after  Lane's  inquiry  for  news,  Lane  was  at 
Lexington,  inquiring  for  Price,  and  here  is  what  he  said  : 
From  the  Kansas  Daily  Tribune,  Oct.  21,  1864. 

LEXINGTON,  Mo..  Oct.  18,  1864. 

DKAR  FRIKXD:  I  have  been  with  Gen.  Blunt  and  his  gallant  little 
army  on  one  of  the  most  rapid  marches  on  record.  When  we  left 
Hickman's  Mills,  we  supposed  we  would  strike  the  head  of  Price's 
column  moving  westward  either  at  Pleasant  Hill  or  Warrensburg. 
The  march  from  Hickman's  Mills  to  Pleasant  Hill,  eighteen  miles, 
\\:is  made  from  7  o'clock  p.  m.  to  12  p.  m.,  Sunday  night.  At  Pleas- 
ant Hill  we  learned  Price  had  captured  Sedalia.  and  was  moving  on 
Warrensburg;  we  immediately  marched  on  the  latter  place.  On 


LANE    LOOKING    FOR    PRICK    WHERE    HE    IS.  293 

reaching  Holden,  fourteen  miles  from  Warrensburg,  we  learned  that 
the  column  which  captured  Sedalia  had  marched  for  this  place.  We 
left.  Holden  at  9  o'clock  last  night,  reaching  here  at  2  o'clock  p.  in. 
to-day,  driving  out  a  band  of  guerrillas  headed  by  Todd  and  Poole, 
killing  two  and  capturing  four.  The  whole  country  bet\v«M>u  Holden 
and  this  place  is  swarming  with  guerrillas.  We  tracked  them  on  the 
route.  Price  is  undoubtedly  moving  on  this  place,  by  the  way  of 
Waverly  and  Dover;  and  if  he  is  successful  in  obtaining  a  foothold 
here,  I  will  feel  that  our  noble  Kansas  army  is  in  imminent  peril. 
Our  best  and  only  plan  is  to  whip  or  turn  him  south  before  he  reacln^ 
this  point.  Blunt  is  maneuvering  admirably,  and  will  fight  against 
odds  to  accomplish  this  object.  God  give  him  success.  The  citizens 
here  tell  me  that  Todd  and  Poole  started  for  Kansas  with  three  hun- 
dred cut-throats  day  before,  yesterday,  and  returned  to-day,  declaring 
that  every  man  and  boy  in  the  State  was  on  the  border  with  a  gun  in 
his  hand,  and  they  were  unable  to  get  through.  Our  people  cannot 
be  over- watchful,  and  the  place  to  watch  is  on  the  border  in  this 
State.  Gen.  Curtis  and  Gen.  Grant  are  both  wide  awake  to  this  dan- 
ger, and  I  do  hope  it  may  be  averted.  A  very  few  days  longer  will 
decide  our  fate.  We  have  able  leaders,  brave  troops  and  noble 
militia,  who  deserve  to  win,  and  I  fondly  hope  will.  LANK. 

While  Lane  and  Blunt  were  in  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton, their  enemies  were  exultantly  taking  satisfaction  at 
Shawnee,  in  the  following  manner — all  because  they 
were  unable  to  find  Price  : 

From  the  Kansas  Daily  Tribune,  October  ±>,  18(54. 

At  Shawnee  thirty  or  forty  persons  got  together  and  burned  Lane 
in  effigy,  and  took  a  jack  from  Mr.  Choteau's  farm,  and  paraded  it 
with  Gen.  Blunt's  name  on  it.  A  goodly  portion  of  these  men  deserted 
the  same  night. 

Of  Lane's  services,  Gen.  Curtis  makes  this  honorable 

mention  in  his  report : 

/ 

Hon.  Senator  Lane,  of  my  voluteer  staff,  took  an  active  and  prom- 
inent part  in  the  conflict,  and  displayed  much  courage  and  gallantry 


(JEN.    LANK    KKI'OKTS    TO    (SEN.    CTHFIS. 

under  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  .  .  .  Senator  Lane's  experi- 
ence in  former  campaigns  in  Mexico  and  upon  the  Kansas  border, 
enabled  him  to  be  of  much  service  in  the  field  everywhere. 

These  were  no  times  for  dissensions ;  and  the  intelli- 
gent reader  will  mark  the  contrast  between  Lane  and 
his  assailants :  the  one  energetically  and  uncomplain- 
ingly pursuing  the  enemy  in  his  own  country,  deter- 
mined that  rebels,  led  by  Missouri  leaders,  must  fight 
their  battles  on  their  own  soil — that  the  devastations  of 
war  be  made  to  come  home  to  the  aggressors,  rather 
than  to  the  innocent  defenders  of  their  homes  in  Kan-vt-. 
Read  the  dignified,  intelligent  report  of  Gen.  Lane  to  his 
superior  officer : 

KEI'ORT    OF    HON.    ,T.    H.    LANE,   VOLUNTEER    AIDE-DE-CAMP. 

In  compliance  with  your  request  that  I  report  to  you  the  part  I  took 
in  the  recent  campaign  against  Major  General  Sterling  Price,  and 
what  facts  came  under  my  observation  during  that  campaign  as  vol- 
unteer Aide-de-camp  upon  your  staff,  I  have  the  honor  to  report  the 
following: 

On  my  arrival  at  Fort  Leavemvorth  from  \Vasliington  City,  by  way 
of  St.  Louis,  I  found  you  absorbed  in  preparations  to  resist  the  inva- 
sion of  Kansas  by  the  rebel  army  under  General  Price,  which  \\as 
then  marching  through  the  State  of  Missouri  intact,  gathering  strength 
day  by  day  as  it  approached  our  border.  The  military  force  of  the 
department  having  been  rapidly  concentrated  in  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  State,  comprising  volunteers  and  militia,  all  under  the  imme- 
diate command  of  Major  General  Blunt,  I  reported  to  you  at  Olathe 
on  the  10th  of  October  and  entered  at  once  upon  duty.  From  the  10th 
to  the  14th  I  was  employed  with  others  of  your  staff,  under  your  per- 
sonal direction,  in  selecting  positions  and  making  dispositions  of 
troops  along  the  border  and  on  the  Blue,  visiting,  for  that  purpose, 
Wyundotte,  Kansas  City,  Independence  and  Hickman's  Mills.  At 
this  point,  Gen.  Curtis  directed  Gen.  Blunt,  with  the  brigades  of  Col. 


KANSAS   TROOPS    IX    TIIK    WIIITK 


3  S 


K  > 

«  X 

cS  "^ 

oc  O 


21H)  LANE    AMON<i    THE    FIGHTERS. 

Moonlight  and  Col.  Jennison,  to  move  eastward  until  they  found  the 
enemy,  and  to  learn  the  exact  position  and  line  of  march  which  had 
hitherto,  from  all  information  obtainable  from  any  quarter,  been  but 
mere  conjecture,  with  instructions   to   harrass  and  impede  him  in 
every  possible  manner,  at  the  same  time  ordering  me  to  accompany 
the  expedition,  while  he  returned  to  Wyandotte,  to  superintend  tin- 
further  organization  of  his  army.     Acting  upon  the  information  re- 
ceived of  the  capture  of  Sedalia  by  the  enemy,  and  supposing  him  to 
be  marching  upon  Warrensburg,  Gen.  Blunt  moved  in  that  direction, 
leaving  Hickman's  Mills  after  dark,  and  making  a  march  of  thirty 
miles  the  night  of  the  15th,  to  Pleasant  Hill.     Between  Pleasant  Hill 
and  Holden,  we  met  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  Missouri  militia 
falling  back  from  Warrensburg,  who  joined  our  force  and  were  en- 
gaged in  the  further  operations  of  our  detachment.     At  Holden,  re- 
ceiving definite   information  that   the  column    that  had  destroyed 
Sedalia  had  moved  north  toward  Lexington,  Gen.  Blunt  at  once  de- 
termined to  move  direct  to  Lexington,  with  the  hope  of  reaching  it 
in  advance  of  the  enemy,  with  a  view  of  saving  the  Government 
property.     Arriving   here,   we   found    the    town   evacuated   by   our 
troops,  who  had  taken  away  the  greater  part  of  the  public  property, 
and  the  bushwhackers,  under  Poole,  in  possession  of  the  place.     Col. 
Moonlight  was  ordered  to  charge,  which  he  did  gallantly,  driving  out 
the  enemy,  killing  and  wounding  some,  and  taking  several  prisoners. 
Gen.  Blunt  established  headquarters  in  the  town,  and  made  such 
disposition  of  his  force  as  would  best  defend  the  several  approaches 
to  the  place,  and  awaited  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  whose  advance 
was  then  but  a  few  miles  distant.     At  1  p.  m.  of  the  19th,  the  head  of 
Price's  column  struck  our  force  under  Col.  Jennison  on  the  Waverly 
road.     Col.  Moonlight  was  ordered  to  move  at  once  to  the  scene  of 
action,  Gen.  Blunt   and    myself  preceding  him.     The  two  brigail-'-. 
then  consolidated,  were  disposed  across  the  road  from  Lexington  t<> 
Independence.  .  By  the  stubborn  fighting  and  skillful  management  of 
the   troMps.  Gen.  Blunt  held  the  enemy  for  five   hours,  falling   back 
slowly  at   night    down    the    Kansas   City  road;   not,   however,   until 
almost  surrounded  and  enveloped  by  the  vastly  superior  dumber  of 
Price's  advancing  columns,  which  pursued  us  closely  for  seven  miles, 


TWO    DAYS*  HARD    FIGHTING.  297 

to  the  Little  Blue.  On  the  morning  of  the  20th  we  took  up  a  position 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  Little  Blue,  determined  to  dispute  the  pass- 
age of  that  stream  with  all  our  force,  while  I  was  dispatched  to  Gen. 
Curtis,  then  at  Independence,  to  inform  him  of  the  position  of  affairs. 
I  found  Gen.  Curtis  at  Independence,  having  formed  his  forces  on  the 
Big  Blue,  and  being  engaged  in  fortifying  the  fords  on  this  stream, 
determined  to  make  his  final  stand  on  that  line.  He  then  ordered  all 
of  (ien.  Blunt's  force  back  to  this  position,  except  Col.  Moonlight's 
brigade,  which  was  left  with  orders  to  burn  the  bridge  and  delay  the 
enemy  as  long  as  possible  at  the  Little  Blue.  About  nine  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  21st,  information  reached  us  that  the  efforts  to 
burn  the  bridge  on  the  Little  Blue  had  failed,  that  the  enemy  WHS 
forcing  the  passage  of  the  river,  and  were  engaging  Col.  Moonlight ; 
Col.  Jennison's  brigade  and  Col.  Ford's  brigade,  including  McLain's 
battery,  were  at  once  ordered  forward  under  (ien.  Blunt,  Gen.  Curtis 
following  quickly  after  and  superintending  movements  on  the  field. 
The  engagement  here  was  severe  and  desperate,  the  troops  fighting 
with  courage  and  dauntlessness  creditable  to  veterans.  The  com- 
manding General,  assisted  by  Gen.  Blunt,  who  seemed  everywhere 
present,  the  bravest  of  the  brave,  was  constantly  under  fire,  directing 
movements  and  inspiring  by  his  own  example  his  greatly  inferior 
force,  till,  flanked  and  threatened  with  annihilation,  he  fell  buck  from 
ridge  to  ridge,  fighting  at  Independence  until  dark,  when  he  crossed 
the  Big  Blue,  establishing  headquarters  for  the  night  on  the  north 
bank,  on  the  road  leading  to  Kansas  City,  the  enemy  meanwhile 
going  into  camp  at  Independence. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d,  the  enemy  commenced  demonstrations 
at  the  different  fords  along  the  stream,  but  was  stubbornly  resisted 
at  all  points.  His  superior  numbers,  however,  enabled  him  at  length 
to  force  a  crossing  at  Byron's  Ford,  but  his  advance  was  sharply  re- 
sisted back  to  the  vicinity  of  Westport,  when,  night  coming  on.  our 
main  force  was  withdrawn  to  Kansas  City,  and  placed  in  line  of  bat- 
tle, leaving  a  sufficient  force  in  the  neighborhood  of  Westport  for  ob- 
servation. During  the  night,  we  learned  from  prisoners  and  other 
sources,  that  Price,  with  his  entire  army,  estimated  at  35,000  men, 
was  upon  us,  intent  upon  the  capture  of  Kansas  City  and  Leaven- 


-•*>s  ENEMY    KOUTED LANE    IX    PURSUIT. 

worth,  and  the  devastation  of  our  State,  and  that  Pleasonton  with  his 
cavalry  was  close  at  hand.  At  daylight  all  the  troops  were  moved 
forward  to  Westport  and  put  in  line  of  battle,  where  Col.  Moonlight 
and  a  portion  of  the  militia  were  engaging  the  enemy.  The  fight 
soon  opened  along  the  whole  line  ;  and,  while  unabated,  the  welcome 
sound  of  Gen.  Pleasonton's  artillery  was  heard  thundering  in  the 
rear  of  the  enemy,  which  was  soon  followed  by  a  courier  from  Gen. 
Pleasonton  himself  confirming  our  hopes  and  reassuring  us  of  present 
help.  Immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence,  Gen.  Curtis 
ordered  a  charge  along  the  whole  line,  in  which  all  participated, 
from  commanding  General  to  soldier,  the  volunteers  and  militia 
charging  with  great  impetuosity  amid  cheers  and  shouts.  The  en- 
emy, at  first  resisting  with  desperate  determination,  soon  began  to 
waver,  gave  way  slowly  and  doggedly,  but  at  length,  broken  by  the 
reckless  resistance  of  our  troops,  and  terror-stricken  from  the  sound 
of  artillery  in  their  rear,  turned  their  faces  southward  and  fled  pre- 
cipitately. The  enemy  beaten,  disheai'tened  and  flying,  the  pursuit 
was  taken  up,  Gen.  Blunt's  division  in  front,  and  was  continued  for 
fifteen  miles  to  Little  Santa  Fe,  when  night  ended  the  day's  opera- 
tions. During  the  pursuit,  about  ten  miles  from  the  battle-field  of 
the  morning,  Generals  Curtis,  Pleasonton  and  Blunt  met  for  the  first 
time  at  the  farm  house  of  Mr.  Thomas,  and  the  plan  for  pursuit  was 
freely  discussed.  Gen.  Pleasonton  was  desirous  to  make  a  detour  to 
the  left  by  the  way  of  Harrisonville.  Gen.  Curtis  insisted  on  mass- 
ing the  command  and  pushing  the  pursuit,  which  was  finally  agreed 
upon.  The  following  morning  the  pursuit  was  resumed  by  the  com- 
bined forces  of  Curtis  and  Pleasonton,  except  McNeil's  brigade,  which 
came  up  during  the  march,  Gen.  Blunt  still  in  the  advance,  Gen.  Cur- 
tis having  assumed  command  of  the  whole  force. 

At  West  Point,  the  pursuit  still  continuing,  the  order  of  march  was 
changed,  owing  to  the  exhaustion  of  Gen.  Blunt's  men,  and  that  por- 
tion which  had  fought  at  Lexington,  not  having  tasted  food  for  days, 
(ien.  Pleasonton's  division  was  placed  in  the  advance,  Gen.  Blunt 
having  meanwhile  detached  Col.  Moonlight's  brigade  to  operate  on 
the  right,  and  for  the  protection  of  Olathe,  Paola,  Mound  City  and 
Fort  Scctt,  on  the  Kansas  border.  In  this  order  the  march  was  con- 


THE    FLIGHT   OF   THE    ENEMY    FROM    KANSAS.          299 

tinued  during  the  night  to  the  Trading  Post,  while  our  column  came 
up  with  the  enemy  about  1  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He  at  once  took 
up  his  flight,  leaving  behind  him  wagons,  provisions  and  plunder  of 
every  description,  and  was  hotly  pursued  by  our  advance  to  Mine 
Run,  where  he  made  a  stand,  and  was  beaten,  with  the  loss  of  one 
piece  of  artillery.  At  the  Osage,  he  made  another  stand,  and  was 
again  beaten,  losing  seven  guns  and  many  prisoners,  among  whom 
were  Generals  Marmaduke  and  Cabell. 

At  Charlotte,  near  Fort  Scott,  he  was  again  beaten.  At  this  point, 
Gen.  Pleasonton,  deeming  rest  and  sleep  necessary  to  his  command, 
withdrew  to  Fort  Scott,  (against  the  earnest  protest  of  Gen.  Curtis, 
who  sternly  insisted  upon  camping  on  the  trail  of  the  retreating  foe,) 
and  from  there  returned  to  St.  Louis.  On  the  following  morning, 
Gen.  Curtis  resumed  the  pursuit,  and  at  night  camped  at  Shanghai, 
and  the  next  day,  the  27th,  his  force  reached  Rouse's  Point,  about  2 
p.  m.,  where,  being  relieved  from  further  duty,  I  left  the  army  and 
returned  home. 

The  foregoing  is  a  brief  resume  of  what  I  saw  and  participated  in 
during  these  eventful  days. 

I  cannot  close  this  report  without  expressing  the  thanks  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Kansas  for  the  gallant  defense  made  of  our  State.  Devasta- 
tion, ruin  and  rapine  threatened  our  border  towns;  an  insolent  and 
hopeful  foe  had  placed  himself,  almost  without  interruption,  within 
a  day's  march  of  our  chief  city  ;  his  avowed  purpose  was  to  sack  and 
burn  wherever  he  touched  our  soil.  He  was  met,  checked,  beaten 
back,  and  finally  put  to  route  by  the  skill  and  energy  of  the  com- 
manding General  and  the  indomitable,  persistent  and  dogged  fight- 
ing of  volunteers  and  militia.  It  would  be  impossible  to  mention 
particular  instances  of  meritorious  conduct,  where  all  did  so  well, 
without  a  seeming  injustice  to  some,  and  I  therefore  reluctantly  re- 
frain from  doing  so.  The  States  of  the  great  Northwest,  whose 
troops  participated  in  this  brief  but  important  campaign,  have  added 
another  to  the  long  list  of  brilliant  achievements  won  by  them  during 
the  war.  To  the  militia  of  my  own  State,  who  sprang  to  arms  with 
the  alacrity  of  other  days,  at  the  approach  of  the  foe,  I  will  be  per- 
mitted to  tender  special  thanks.  Going  out  without  the  hope  of  fee 


300  DENUNCIATIONS   OF    LINCOLN. 

or  reward,  some  have  fallen,  others  have  been  maimed  for  life,  while 
all  have  testified  their  devotion  to  the  common  cause,  and  their  love 
for  our  gallant  young  State ;  to  one  and  all  of  these,  let  us  be  ever 
grateful.  Respectfully  submitted.  J.  H.  LANE. 

MAJOR  C.  S.  CHARLOTT,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

When  the  campaign  against  Price  had  ended,  the 
election  of  all  the  Republican  State  officers  was  practi- 
cally settled.  Lane's  enemies  elected  him.  He  was 
absent  when  the  nominations  for  State  officers  and  mem- 
ber of  Congress  were  made ;  but  whether  absent  or 
present,  all  the  mistakes  of  nominations  were  laid  to 
him.  On  the  contrary,  the  opposition  had  selected  a 
strong  ticket.  It  may  be  said,  without  disrespect  to  the 
nominees,  that  much  fault  was  found  with  the  two  can- 
didates who  headed  the  Republican  ticket,  Hon.  Samuel 
J.  Crawford  for  Governor,  and  Hon.  Sidney  Clarke  for 
Congress.  Lane  himself  thought  that  some  of  the  nom- 
inations were  very  unfortunate,  and  was  much  discour- 
aged, though  he  had  little  to  do  with  making  them,  and 
was  opposed  to  that  of  Clarke. 

The  opposition  ticket  was  formed  by  a  few  bolting  Re- 
publicans who  assembled  one  week  after  the  regular 
convention.  The  Democrats  met  the  same  day,  and  by 
a  compromise,  through  the  passage  of  resolutions  which 
they  construed  as  reflecting  on  Lincoln's  Administra- 
tion, agreed  to  make  no  nominations,  but  to  support 
what  they  called  the  Anti-Lane  ticket. 

When  Lane  assured  himself  that  Gen.  Price  was  ad- 
vancing upon  Kansas,  his  energy  renewed  as  danger 
approached.  He  dropped  all  political  work,  and  put 


ALMOST    UNANIMOUSLY    ELECTED.  301 

his  whole  soul  into  organizing  for  battle.  Not  a  word 
did  he  utter  publicly  on  politics.  Every  political  con- 
sideration stood  in  abeyance  at  the  appalling  condition 
of  his  State. 

Gen.  Curtis  had  before  shown  no  bias  in  his  favor, 
and  Curtis'  conservative  temperament  would  not  natu- 
rally have  made  them  warm  political  friends  ;  but  when 
danger  approached,  Curtis  knew  his  patriotism  and  war- 
like efficiency  would  at  once  make  him  useful,  and  he  im- 
mediately placed  him  upon  his  staff.  Then  was  Curtis  de- 
nounced as  an  imbecile  under  Lane,  and  even  General 
Rosecrans  said  he  ' '  knew  Jim  Lane  well ;  and  he  was 
running  the  machine."  After  Price  had  fled,  they 
shocked  the  moral  sense  of  the  people  by  representing 
Lincoln  as  a  weak  man  used  by  Lane  ;  and  one  of  their 
leaders  was  rash  enough  to  publicly  declare  that  the  Ad- 
ministration of  Lincoln,  in  its  war  policy,  was  more 
tyrannical  than  that  of  Jefferson  Davis. 

These  things  strengthened  Lane.  He  saw  his  oppor- 
tunity, and  made  the  most  of  it.  He  believed  that,  by 
a  little  stategy,  he  could  be  elected  Senator  unani- 
mously. It  was  contrary  to  his  nature  to  be  quiet,  and 
he  made  a  most  vigorous  campaign.  His  melancholy 
mood  had  left  him,  and  the  canvass  which  he  made, 
quick,  bold,  defiant,  had  scarcely  ever  been  paralleled. 
When  the  election  came,  out  of  the  one  hundred  votes 
then  in  both  houses,  he  received  82,  to  16  aimlessly- 
scattering,  and  2  not  voting. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

SENATOR    INOALLS    ON     LANE LANE'S     SOUTHERN    EXPEDI- 
TION  THE    HENDERSON    AMENDMENT. 

Perhaps  in  all  the  catalogue  of  Lane's  assailants  there 
has  been  no  man  so  caustic,  severe  and  bitter  in  his 
criticism  and  his  charges  as  Senator  Ingalls.  We  regret 
this — regret  it,  because,  in  our  admiration  in  common 
with  the  American  people  of  the  man,  it  compels  us  to 
attempt  the  refutation  of  charges  which  we  consider  un- 
tenable and  incorrect,  made  by  a  statesman  who  has  held 
the  most  exalted  parliamentary  position  in  the  world — 
that  of  President  of  the  United  States  Senate.  His  emi- 
nence makes  the  refutation  the  more  essential.  We  can- 
not pass  them  indifferently  by.  We  might  as  well  burn 
all  the  three  hundred  pages  already  in  print,  and  admit 
the  historical  accuracy  of  Mr.  Ingalls  statements  as  far 
as  they  go.  We  are  forced  to  this  attempt,  and  com- 
pelled to  admit,  in  all  sincerity,  that  we  wish  it  were  in 
better  hands.  We  hope  we  shall  be  able  to  say  what  we 
may  in  courtesy,  truthfulness  and  sincerity. 

We  have,  however,  the  advantage  over  Ingalls  of  per- 
sonally, intimately  knowing  General  Lane  from  his  first 


LAKE'S  CONSISTENT  POLITICS.  :in:; 

entrance  into  Kansas  till  the  day  of  his  death,  while  Mr. 
Ihgalls,  except  as  a  public  man,  scarcely  knew  him  at 

all. 

Senator  Ingalls  says  that  ' '  had  he  been  running  for 
office  in  Hindosfcan,  he  would  have  thrown  his  offspring 
to  the  crocodiles  of  the  flanges,  or  bowed  among  the  Par- 
sees  at  the  shrine  of  the  Sun"  for  success.  It  is  fortu- 
nate for  his  reputation  that  he  was  not  a  Hindu,  but  a 
plain,  common-sense  American  citizen,  in  which  capacity 
he  was  amply  able  to  sustain  himself  through  a  life 
of  consistency  for  over  fifty  years,  changing  only  when 
Grant  and  Logan  and  Butler  and  hosts  of  other  great 
Democrats  changed  in  following  the  American  flag  when 
the  institution  of  slavery  demanded  its  surrender.  It 
was  his  boast  that  he  made  a  Democratic  speecli  at  the 
age  of  thirteen  years,  and  never  scratched  a  Democratic 
ticket  until  the  Kansas  Legislature  resolved  that  it  was 
treason  to  Kansas  and  the  South  to  have  a  Democratic 
party  in  the  Territory,  and  left  no  Democratic  ticket  to 
scratch  ;  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  he  never  attempted 
to  leave  the  party  of  his  choice  in  the  Kansas  struggle.* 
AVhat  more  would  the  consistent  Senator  have  had  him 
do  ?  In  the  tergiversations  of  politicians  in  Kansas, 
where  will  he  point  us  to  a  better  model  of  an  earnest, 
consistent  political  life  ? 

In  1862,  Gen.  Lane  conceived  the  idea  of  what  was 


*In  Chapter  XXVI,  on  "The  Causes  of  General  Lane's  Death,"  we 
have  given  our  view  on  his  vote  tc  sustain  President  Johnson's  veto 
of  the  Civil  Rights  bill,  so  censoriously  criticised  at  the  time. 


304  LANE'S  MAGNETIC  POWER. 

known  as  "  Lane's  Expedition. "  His  plan  was  to  march 
through  the  Indian  Territory,  with  a  cordon  of  troops 
which  would  draw  the  enemy  from  the  east,  and  invest 
Texas  by  sea  and  land.  Major  General  Hunter  would 
be  his  superior,  but  Lane  believed  he  had  so  arranged 
with  Hunter  that  he  would  be  unembarrassed  and  free 
to  use  his  own  judgment  and  to  form  his  own  plans. 

Lane's  antagonists  call  his  power  that  of  "  magnet- 
ism." Cicero  said  all  great  men  were  in  some  degree 
inspired.  Rev.  Lyman  Beecher,  after  being  persuaded, 
against  his  religious  opposition  to  theaters,  to  witness 
the  performance  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  being  asked 
what  he  thought  of  it,  replied,  that  he  believed  his 
daughter  was  inspired  to  write  it,  if  the  devil  did  dram- 
atize it.  And  yet  here  is  a  man  who,  seizing  the  oppor- 
tunities of  his  time,  did  more  than  any  man  living  to 
stay  the  tide  of  tyranny  overrunning  Kansas,  whom 
Senator  Ingalls  pronounces  a  Captain  Bobadil  in  war 
and  a  Rittmaster  Dugald  Dalgetty  in  peace.  Let  us 
try  him  as  a  Wizard  of  Endor  on  Ingalls. 

Before  his  plans  were  thwarted  by  Gen.  Hunter's 
jealousy,  Ingalls  was  probing  him  occasionally  in  the 
State  Senate,  till  he  got  Lane's  ire  up.  He  said  :  "I'll 
bring  John.  I  go  to  Atchison.' '  He  went — went  with  all 
the  faith  of  Luther  when  he  declared  he  would  go  to 
Worms  if  there  were  as  many  devils  in  that  city  as 
tiles  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses.  Atchison  had  beaten 
him  just  previously,  when  he  had  one  eye  on  something 
else,  and  to  him  it  was  doubtful  whether  Atchison  or 


HIS    TRIUMPH    IN    ATCHISON.  •"•<>."> 

Worms  had  the  most  devils.  But  he  brought  him,  as  if 
by  magic. 

I  have  read  a  story  of  the  works  of  a  magician  at  Be- 
nares— that  city  so  old  that  agnostics  quote  its  antiquity 
to  disprove  the  authenticity  of  the  scriptures.  A  party 
of  gentlemen  were  admiring  the  wonders  of  nature  and 
of  art  in  its  suburbs,  when  a  magician  appeared,  giving 
evidences  of  his  art  so  tame  that  they  became  disgusted, 
and  one  of  them  told  him  in  Hindu  to  go  away.  His 
^yes  flashed  as  he  asked  if  they  wanted  him  to  leave. 
"Yes;  any  boy  in  Benares  can  beat  that."  He  then 
asked  them  to  please  stand  in  positions  as  he  placed 
them,  and  by  his  wonderful  magic  illusions  he  raised  a 
rock  weighing  thousands  of  tons  ten  feet  in  the  air,  its 
sands  and  gravel  dripping  from  its  edges.  I  have  seen 
<i  hypnotic  take  a  man  and  stand  him  up,  open  his 
mouth  and  tell  him  to  say  no  when  he  wanted  him  to  say 
aye,  and  hold  him  helpless  in  that  condition,  exclaiming 
"  Aye,  aye." 

Lane  beat  both  these  feats  at  Atchison.  He  told  the 
people  of  Atchison  of  the  glories  of  Lane's  Expedition  ; 
how  20,000  to  30,000  troops  would  be  transported  over 
their  new  railroad,  furnished  and  provisioned  at  Atchi- 
son;  how  he  would  build  a  fortification,  with  its  great 
guns  frowning  over  Missouri ;  how  a  railroad  and  tele- 
graph line  would  be  necessary  to  the  gulf;  and  he 
painted  Atchison  redder*  than  Benares  was  when  she 


*The  houses  of  Benares  were  painted  a  brilliant  red. 


306        RESOLUTION    TO    MAKE    HIM    MAJOR    GENERAL. 

was  furnishing  Solomon  with  his  peacocks  and  his  apes 
and  his  gold  for  the  ornamentation  of  his  temple,  till  he 
lifted  Atchison  swinging  in  the  air  like  the  vision  of  a 
mirage  upon  the  Western  prairies,  all  its  inhabitants 
yelling  and  screeching  and  screaming  for  ' '  Lane  and  his 
Southern  Expedition !" 

Just  then,  Senator  Hi.  Sleeper  offered  in  the  Senate  at 
Topeka  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  we  most  earnestly  recommend  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States  the  immediate  appointment  of  Gen.  James  H.  Lane 
as  a  Major  General,  and  that  he  at  onde  be  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  contemplated  Expedition  South  of  the  Department  of  Texas. 

Lane  barely  took  breath  in  view  of  his  Atchison  tri- 
umph, till  he  waved  his  magic  wand  in  the  direction  of 
Topeka,  sixty  miles  away,  gave  an  electric  touch  where 
wire  never  was  stretched,  and  by  some  power  unknown 
to  common  mortals,  raised  Senator  Ingalls  from  his  seat 
and  swayed  him  and  held  him,  till  he  yelled  "  No,  no, 
no,  no," — four  times — on  amendments  proposed  to  kill 
the  resolution,  and  then  Lane  said,  like  other  hypnotics, 
"  Right,  right — presto,  change  !"  and  he  controlled  him 
again,  commanding  him  to  say  aye,  and  he  yelled 
"  Aye  !"  "  And  so  the  resolution  passed  :" 

AYES — Messrs.  Broadhead,  Curtis,  Essick,  Holliday,  Ingalls,  Keeler, 
Lambdin,  McDowell,  Osborn,  Phillips,  Sleeper,  and  Spriggs — 12. 

NAYS — Messrs.  Burnett,  Denman,  Gunn,  Hoffman,  Hubbard,  Lynde, 
and  Reese — 7.  (See  Senate  Journal  1862,  pages  67-70.) 

Thus  we  see  the  eminent  Senator  voting  to  place  Sen- 
ator Lane  in  a  position  which  the  President  considered 
essential  to  the  salvation  of  the  Union — a  man  who  "in 


OLD    JIM    WAS    RATHEK    A    SMART    MAN.  307 

arms  was  a  Captain  Bobadil,  and  in  politics  a  Rittmas- 
ter  Dugald  Dalgetty."  What  malice  aforethought  could 
he  have  had  against  that  great  man  who  was  then  wrest- 
ling with  all  the  weighty  questions  of  statesmanship 
and  Avar,  to  attempt  to  thrust  upon  him  a  harlequin 
with  no  capacity  to  command  and  no  ability  to  nego- 
tiate ?  What  enmity  could  he  have  had  against  the 
brave  men  imperiling  their  lives  to  save  their  country, 
that  he  should  attempt  to  put  them  under  the  command 
of  a  hair-brained  adventurer  with  no  capacity  to  lead  ? 

It  is  but  just  to  the  Senator  to  say  that  he  cast  that 
vote  only  at  the  urgent  solicitation  of  his  constituents  ; 
but  that  all  the  more  illustrates  the  versatility  of  Lane's 
genius.  We  are  trying  to  convince  our  readers  that  Old 
Jim  was  rather  a  smart  man. 

Lane  left  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate,  pro- 
posing to  resign  his  place  in  the  highest  parliamentary 
body  in  the  world  ;  imbued  with  an  exalted  patriotism , 
he  left  the  chair  of  comparative  ease  and  comfort  for  the 
tented  field  of  danger,  disaster,  and  probable  death.  He 
proposed  to  penetrate  the  wilderness  in  an  expedition  to 
the  gulf  only  second  to  Sherman's  from  Atlanta  to  the 
sea.  When  Gen.  Hunter  issued  a  proclamation  that  he 
would  take  command  of  the  expedition  himself,  there 
was  no  possible  course  for  Lane  to  pursue  in  self-respect 
but  to  return  to  his  seat  in  the  Senate.  What  might 
have  resulted  is  but  conjecture  ;  but  as  he  had  revelled 
in  the  Halls  of  the  Montezumas,  so  might  he  have  revel- 
led in  that  island-gem  of  the  sea,  Galveston,  and  camped 


308  NO    ACCUSATION    OFFICIALLY    MADE. 

his  hosts  in  the  haunts  of  the  Baratarian  pirates  ;  enrolled 
ten  thousand  slaves  under  his  banners,  called  the  noble 
Texan  back  from  the  Eastern  battle-fields,  engaged  Price 
in  Texas,  and  sent  the  book-worm  in  search  of  history  on 
Price's  campaigns  and  depredations  to  the  archives  of 
Austin  instead  of  to  Topeka. 

Senator  Ingalls,  in  his  article  in  Harper's  Magazine 
of  April,  1893,  says:  "  He  gained  the  prize  which  he 
sought  with  such  fevered  ambition ;  but,  after  many 
stormy  and  tempestuous  years,  Nemesis,  inevitable  in 
such  careers,  demanded  retribution.  He  presumed  too 
far  upon  the  toleration  of  a  constituency  which  had  hon- 
ored him  so  long  and  forgiven  him  so  much.  He  tran- 
scended the  limit  which  the  greatest  cannot  pass.  He 
apostatized  once  too  often  ;  and  in  his  second  term  in 
the  Senate,  to  avoid  impending  exposure,  after  a  tragic 
interval  of  despair,  died  by  his  own  hand." 

This  is  a  most  unjust  accusation.  It  not  only  accuses 
the  man  whose  voice  is  silenced  in  death,  where  no  accu- 
sation was  ever  formally  made,  but  it  implies  frequent 
acts  of  dishonor.  No  public  accusation  was  ever  made 
against  him,  either  in  court,  in  Congress,  in  the  Senate, 
as  Lieutenant  Governor,  or  in  any  other  official  capacity. 
No  charge  was  ever  made,  no  resolution  of  inquiry  ever 
offered,  in  any  of  the  numerous  bodies  in  which  he 
acted.  He  led  two  regiments  in  the  Mexican  war.  No 
charge  was  ever  made — no  court-martial  ever  suggested. 
Malice  had  done  its  worst  in  the  heat  of  political  excite- 
ments ;  but  never  did  any  public  man  dare  to  put  a 


ON  THE  HENDERSON  AMENDMENT.         309 

charge  against  him  in  official  form.  Many  public  con- 
tributions which  were  made  to  the  sufferers  in  Kansas 
were  stolen ;  no  accusation  was  made  against  him. 
Thousands  upon  thousands  of  fraudulent  bonds  were 
issued.  He  never  owned,  or  handled  one  for  a  client. 

No  Senator  has  ever  been  his  superior  in  influence 
with  the  departments  ;  and  no  other  Senator  ever  did  so 
much  for  Atchison  as  Senator  Lane.  This  is  no  reflec- 
tion upon  Senator  Ingalls,  because,  in  the  eighteen  years 
of  his  service,  no  such  opportunity  presented  itself ;  but 
Lane  is  entitled  to  much  credit  and  the  everlasting  grati- 
tude of  Atchison  for  generously  seizing  the  opportunity 
and  accomplishing  the  most  important  results. 

The  writer  heard  the  whole  debate  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  day  after  day,  on  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road bill.  The  debate  upon  the  celebrated  Henderson 
amendment,  but  what  was  more  properly  the  Sumner 
amendment,  was  a  motion  by  Senator  Sumner  to  strike 
out  Atehison  and  insert  St.  Joseph  as  the  initial  point 
for  what  afterwards  became  the  Central  Branch  Union 
Pacific,  with  a  view  to  making  a  straighter  and  shorter 
line  westward  from  St.  Joseph  than  could  be  made  by  a 
divergence  from  the  western  terminus  of  the  Hannibal 
and  St.  Joseph  Railroad  by  way  of  Atchison.  This  could 
only  be  done  by  changing  the  grant  of  subsidies  from 
the  Atchison  and  Pike's  Peak  Railroad  Company  to  the 
St.  Joseph  and  Denver  Railroad  Company,  amounting  to 
$16,000  per  mile.  Senator  Henderson  of  Missouri  was 
intensely  interested  in  it,  and  the  amendment  took  his 


310  THE    SENATE    FAIRLY    STARTLED. 

name.  The  question  was  debated  by  several  Senators 
on  the  merits  of  the  shorter  route ;  and  Senator  Pome- 
roy  made  a  strong  speech  in  support  of  Atchison.  But 
the  tide  was  against  him. 

In  this  debate  I  sat  in  the  gallery  by  the  side  of  Hon. 
James  F.  Legate,  who  occasionally  punctuated  the  de- 
bate with  appropriate  whispered  remarks.  As  the  Sen- 
ate seemed  about  to  take  the  vote,  Legate  said:  "Old 
Pom.'s  gone  up.  That's  a  terrible  blow.  It  almost 
strikes  Atchison  from  the  map  of  Kansas."  There  did 
not  seem  a  doubt  of  the  result.  There  was  a  lull  in  the 
Senate.  Lane  had  not  spoken  a  word.  Nobody  knew 
that  he  desired  to  speak.  As  he  seemed  to  make  a  slow 
movement  in  his  chair,  Legate  quickly  whispered  :  ' '  Old 
Jim's  going  to  speak  !  Old  Jim's  going  to  speak  !"  He 
arose  slowly,  looked  all  around,  and  soon  struck  out  on 
a  new  line  which  fairly  startled  the  Senate,  by  inform- 
ing that  staid  body  that  he  could  no  longer  hold  his 
peace  and  see  the  Senate  unwittingly  voting  $16,000  per 
mile  to  a  gang  of  incorporated  rebels  whose  hands  were 
red  with  the  blood  of  Union  men  !  In  the  midst  of  his 
fiery  demonstration,  Legate  nudged  me,  remarking: 
"  He  thinks  he  is  at  Baldwin  City  !"  The  debate  went 
on,  Senator  Henderson  taking  a  prominent  hand  in  it, 
till  some  of  the  Senators  wanted  to  know  whether  Mis- 
souri and  Kansas  could  not  fight  their  battles  in  some 
other  place.  I  can  only  give  space  to  quote  from  Senate 
proceedings  in  Congressional  Globe  of  June  20, 1862  : 
Mr.  Lane,  of  Kansas.  The  charter  to  which  the  gentleman  [Sena- 


THE    MOST    EFFECTIVE    SPEECH    MADE.  311 

tor  Henderson,  of  Missouri]  alludes  was  granted  while  Kansas  was 
controlled  by  the  filibusters  of  Missouri.    Jeff  Thompson  obtained 
this  charter  when  the  fillibusters  of  Missouri  controlled,  by  fraud  and 
villany,  the  Legislature  of  Kansas. 
Mr.  Sumner.     Does  it  go  back  to  that  time? 

Mr.  Lane,  of  Kansas.  Yes,  sir,  so  I  am  informed.  There  is  an- 
other remark  I  have  to  make.  "When  my  heart  ceases  to  beat,  and 
not  until  then,  will  I  permit  any  gentleman,  here  or  elsewere,  to 
state  that  Kansas  is  to  be  compared  with  Missouri  in  the  outrages  she 
has  committed.  In  1855,  1856,  1857  and  1858,  the  outrages  were  all 
upon  one  side ;  Kansas  acted  exclusively  upon  the  defensive ;  and  I 
defy  that  gentleman  or  any  other  gentleman  to  point  to  any  body  of 
Kansans  who  ever  invaded  the  territory  of  Missouri  or  stuffed  her 
ballot  boxes  or  attempted  to  do  so.  We  have,  in  discharge  of  our 
duty  to  the  flag  and  the  country,  marched  into  Missouri  by  orders  of 
the  Government  to  crush  out  rebellion,  since  the  commencement  of 
this  struggle.  Never  before  did  Kansas  invade  Missouri.  And  I  take 
the  liberty  here  of  saying,  that  the  charge  preferred  recently  by  the 
Governor  of  Missouri  against  the  troops  of  Kansas,  in  his  message  to 
a  convention  of  that  State,  of  which  the  Senator  was  a  member,  is  false 
and  slanderous,  unjust  and  disgraceful  to  him  as  a  man  and  as  a  Gov- 
ernor. The  troops  of  Kansas  marched  into  Missouri  for  the  purpose 
of  crushing  out  rebellion,  and  did  nothing  but  what  was  necessary  in 
the  discharge  of  their  duty  and  in  obedience  to  orders  to  crush  out 
such  men  as  Jeff  Thompson,  and  those  who  have  ruled  and  would  still 
control  the  destinies  of  St.  Joseph.  To-day  the  Senator  from  Massa- 
chusetts is  endeavoring  to  aid  a  town  in  Missouri  at  the  expense  of  a 
Kansas  town  that  has  to  be  kept  in  subjection  by  an  army  of  the 
troops  of  the  United  States ;  to  discriminate  against  loyal  Atchison 
in  favor  of  disloyal  St.  Joseph.  That  is  the  position  which  the  Sena- 
tor from  Massachusetts  occupies  to-day ;  and  I  do  deeply  regret  it, 
for  I  know  that  he  has  been  as  true  to  the  interests  of  freedom  and  to 
Kansas  as  any  Senator  upon  this  floor.  I  know,  Mr.  President,  that 
the  noble  defense  of  that  Senator  upon  this  floor  well  nigh  cost  him 
his  life. 


312  CARRIED    ATCHISON    ALMOST    UNANIMOUSLY. 

That  whole  speech  would  be  good  reading  now.  It 
was  a  remarkable  speech  to  be  made  in  that  staid,  con- 
servative, dignified  body  ;  but  it  was  listened  to  with  the- 
most  profound  attention,  and  not  without  manifestations 
of  approval  from  the  galleries.  Gen.  Thomas  Ewing, 
then  a  citizen  of  Kansas  deeply  interested  in  Kansas- 
affairs,  pronounced  it  the  most  effective  speech  he  had 
ever  heard  in  the  Senate.  We  hesitate  not  to  say,  con- 
sidering the  struggling  infancy  of  the  city  and  the  State  r 
that  it  was  as  good  a  speech  as  ever  was  made  for  the 
interests  of  both  of  them. 

And  that,  too,  for  a  city,  which,  not  long  before,  had 
sent  a  committee  to  notify  him  that  he  would  be  mur- 
dered if  he  undertook  to  make  an  "  abolition  "  speecli 
in  Atchison.  The  committee  did  not  want  to  kill  him  ; 
they  were  for  peace  ;  but  they  tried  to  persuade  him  to- 
secure  peace  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  freedom  of  speech. 
He  requested  the  committee  to  notify  the  people  that  he 
always  fulfilled  his  appointments,  would  be  promptly  on 
time,  and  Atchison  would  have  to  be  responsible  for  re- 
sults. He  did  speak  successfully. 

It  is  a  historical  fact,  that,  in  1864,  out  of  gratitude — 
we  know  no  other  reason — many  of  the  better  class  of 
these  Pro-Slavey  men  supported  him,  notably  Gen.  B.  F. 
Stringfellow  ;  and  that  he  carried  Atchison  county  almost 
unanimously,  against  an  unnatural  conglomeration  of 
politicians,  for  the  United  States  Senate. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE    CAUSES    OF    GENERAL    LANE'S    DEATH. 

There  have  been  many  conjectures.  The  immediate 
cause  was  insanity.  There  was  not  a  doubt  of  that.  He 
had  premonitions  of  it  himself,  and  suggested  to  Mr. 
Frank  Adams  that  he  ought  to  be  taken  to  an  asylum 
for  the  insane.  An  overworked  brain  brought  it  on. 

One  of  the  things  which  troubled  him  greatly  was  the 
condemnation  by  his  friends  of  his  voCe  to  sustain  Presi- 
dent Johnson  in  his  veto  of  the  civil  rights  bill.  He  ex- 
plained his  reasons  to  me  for  that  vote,  at  Washington > 
a  few  days  after  he  cast  it ;  and  they  were  mainly  his 
ardent  desire  to  conciliate  the  President  with  the  Re- 
publican Congress  ;  but  he  remarked,  with  a  very  sad 
expression  of  countenance,  that  he  had  exhausted  every 
resource  of  his  nature,  and  could  not  move  him. 

Another  trouble  of  his  mind  was  on  charges  of  having 
an  interest  in  a  contract  or  contracts  with  the  United 
States  Government,  which  was  a  serious  charge  against 
a  Senator.  He  denied  utterly  its  truth.  An  article  had 
been  published  in  the  Chicago  Tribune  attributing  such 
an  offense  to  a  Senator,  without  naming  him  ;  and  an- 


314  CHARGES    ABOUT    CONTRACTS. 

other  article,  editorial,  in  the  Boston  Commonwealth, 
which  he  showed  me,  stating  that  Lane  of  Kansas  was 
the  Senator  referred  to.  Lane  had  ascertained  that  Col. 
Wm.  A.  Phillips  was  the  author  of  the  Tribune  charge, 
demanded  his  authority,  and  was  given  the  name  of  Col. 
George  W.  Deitzler.  He  asked  me  whether  I  could  see 
Deitzler  for  him,  and  get  a  statement  from  him  in  regard 
to  it.  I  replied  that  I  had  heard  the  story  before  I  left 
Kansas,  and  had  had  a  conversation  with  Deitzler,  in 
which  he  stated  positively  that  he  knew  nothing  about 
it.  "That,"  said  Lane,  "is  all  I  want  him  to  say.  It 
is  all  he  can  say."  He  showed  me  an  affidavit  from 
Perry  Fuller,  who  was  one  of  the  contractors  with  Deitz- 
ler, swearing  that  Lane  had  no  interest  in  any  contract 
whatever,  to  his  knowledge.  Col.  Deitzler  made  the  fol- 
lowing statement : 

LAWRENCE,  KANSAS,  June  18,  1866. 
MESSRS.  PERRY  FULLER  &  Co.,  Lawrence,  Kansas. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  16th  inst.,  I  have  to  state 
that  I  have  no  personal  knowledge  that  Senator  Lane  received  from 
the  firm  of  Fuller  &  McDonald  twenty  thousand  dollars,  as  charged 
in  the  Chicago  Tribune  of  the  5th  inst.,  nor  any  greater  or  less 
amount.  Very  respectfully,  G.  "W.  DEIT/LER. 

Soon  after  this  interview,  he  returned  to  Lawrence, 
Kansas.  I  saw  him  there.  I  rode  around  the  city  with 
him :  and  he  expressed  great  interest  in  the  town,  say- 
ing, ' '  A  town  with  seven  churches  ought  not  to  go 
down."  He  started  for  Washington.  In  a  day  or  two, 
the  Missouri  Democrat  ^now  the  Globe-Democrat)  pub- 
lished a  statement  that  he  had  stopped  at  a  hotel  there, 


SAD   CIRCUMSTANCES    OF    HIS    DEATH.  : ',!.", 

and  that  there  were  serious  reasons  for  fearing  that  he 
was  threatened  with  softening  of  the  brain.    He  returned 
to  Leavenworth,  and  went  to  the  Government  farm  just 
outside  of  the   city,  which  was   superintended  by  his 
brother-in-law,  Mr.  McCall.     Being  in  Leaven  worth,  I 
went  at  once  to  the  farm  to  see  him.     As  I  approached 
the  farm,  Col.  Nicholas  Smith  (who  afterward  married 
Miss  Ida,  the  daughter  of  Horace  Greeley)  was  going 
after  Rev.  Mr.  Leonard,  a  Methodist  minister,  and  told 
me  Lane  was  deranged.     Lane  stood  in  the  doorway  as  I 
walked  up  to  the  house.     I  jokingly  told  him  I  heard  he 
was  dangerously  ill ;  but  I   could  see  he  was  worth  a 
dozen  dead  men  yet.     He  said  :  "  The  pitcher  is  broken 
at  the  fountain.     My  life  is  ended  ;  I  want  you  to  do  my 
memory  justice  ;    I  ask  nothing  more."     I  tried  to  en- 
courage him.     I  offered  to  stay ;  but  seeing  I  could  do 
nothing,  I  returned  that  night  to  my  home  at  Lawrence. 
That  was  Friday  afternoon.     The  next  Sunday  (July  1, 
1866)  he  committed  suicide.     He  was  passing  over  the 
farm  in  a  carriage  with  Mr.  McCall  and  Mr.  Adams. 
As  they  got  out  to  open  a  gate,  he  got  out,  too,  and  say- 
ing,  "  Good-bye,  Mac,"  he  drew  a  revolver,  fired  a  ball 
through  the  roof  of  his  mouth,  and  fell.     The  bullet  came 
out  just  a  little  to  the  left  of  the  center  of  the  cranium. 
From  then  till  death,  he  remained  in  a  comatose  condition. 
Once,  he  recognized  and  named  Josiah  Miller,  and  at  an- 
other time,  he  named  William  A.  Phillips,  who  was  not 
present. 

I  think  he  had  suicidal  tendencies.      Just  after  the 


316  THE    FREAKS   OF   INSANITY. 

Lawrence  massacre,  I  was  riding  with  him,  when  he 
pointed  to  a  log,  behind  which  he  said  he  was  concealed, 
and  told  me  that  three  of  the  men  engaged  in  that  mas- 
sacre passed  closely  by  him.  Then,  opening  a  delicate 
penknife,  with  one  small  blade,  he  placed  the  point  of 
that  little  blade  immediately  over  the  ball  of  one  of  his 
eyes,  and  said  :  "  That  was  the  only  weapon  I  had  ;  and 
as  I  knew,  if  they  captured  me,  they  would  torture  me 
to  death,  I  intended  to  thrust  that  little  blade  up  into 
my  brain  to  escape  torture." 

I  do  not  believe  there  ever  was  any  evidence  of  his 
being  complicated  in  that  contract.  An  overworked 
man,  reason  dethroned,  he  took  his  own  life.  .There  is 
nothing  strange  about  such  a  man  becoming  insane. 
The  instances  are  numberless — some  running  to  violence 
upon  their  best  friends — some  to  suicide. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

CONGRESSIONAL    EULOGIES    UPON    HIS    DEATH. 

The  limits  the  writer  has  given  himself  in  this  work 
will  not  allow  of  lengthy  extracts  and  speeches ;  but  a 
portion  of  the  remarks  upon  his  death,  from  the  stand- 
points of  men  differing  with  him  politically,  must  be 
interesting.  I  will  not  quote  the  speech  of  his  colleague, 
Senator  Pomeroy,  or  of  Kansas'  sole  Representative, 
Hon.  Sidney  Clarke.  They  would  be  considered  matter- 
of-course  expressions  by  many.  But,  even  in  death,  the 
most  positive  opponents  of  the  cause  which  enlisted  the 
bitterest  antagonism  would  not  be  expected  to  eulogize 
him  without  merit ;  nor  could  they  be  expected  to  stul- 
tify themselves  by  justifying  him  in  his  eminent  work 
which  went  not  only  to  dethroning  slavery,  but  to  hurl- 
ing themselves  out  of  power  in  the  annihilation  of  their 
party's  supremacy.  The  following  speech  from  Hon. 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Senator  from  Indiana  and  Vice 

President  of  the  United  States,  will  be  read  with  inter- 

• 

est,  alike  in  defense  of  his  honor  as  a  Senator  and  his 
gallantry  as  a  commander  in  the  Mexican  war : 


318  VICE    PRESIDENT    HENDRICKS    ON    LANE. 

From  the  Congressional  Globe,  July  18, 1886 : 

Mr.  Hendricks.  Mr.  President:  Amos  Lane,  the  father  of  James 
H.  Lane,  was  a  distinguished  citizen  of  the  State  of  Indiana.  His 
professional  learning  and  force  as  a  public  speaker  placed  him  among 
the  able  lawyers  of  the  State.  He  was  prominently  connected  with 
the  early  legislation  of  the  State,  and  contributed  to  the  establish- 
ment of  our  system  of  laws.  For  four  years  he  was  a  Representative 
in  Congress,  and  took  rank  as  an  able  debater  in  that  body. 

James  H.  Lane  was  born  in  the  county  of  Dearborn,  in  the  State  of 
Indiana,  on  the  22d  day  of  June,  1814,  and  that  continued  to  be  his 
home  until  1855,  when  he  identified  his  fortunes  with  the  people  of 
Kansas.  He  was  educated  for  the  bar,  but  did  not  long  devote  him- 
self to  the  labors  or  pursue  the  honors  of  the  profession.  When  the 
country  became  involved  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  he  was  among  the 
first  to  respond  to  the  call  for  troops.  His  rare  energy  of  character 
was  displayed  in  the  restless  zeal  with  which  he  prosecuted  the  work 
of  raising  and  organizing  the  Third  Regiment  of  Indiana  Volunteers. 
By  the  choice  of  the  companies,  he  was  made  the  Colonel,  and  placed 
in  command  of  the  regiment. 

That  regiment  was  made  up  of  the  young  men  of  Southeastern  In- 
diana, and  was  composed  largely  of  the  sons  of  the  farmers ;  and  in  it 
were  many  of  my  youthful  associates  and  friends,  many  whose  friend- 
ship and  esteem  I  yet  cherish ;  and  I  think  I  am  justified  in  saying 
that  in  every  soldierly  quality  it  was  entitled  to  rank  with  the  first 
and  the  proudest.  Its  fortunes  became  to  me  a  subject  of  great  in- 
terest, and  from  the  day  of  enrollment  to  the  day  of  discharge,  I  list- 
ened for  every  report  of  its  gallant  achievements,  and  was  very  proud 
of  the  great  name  with  which  it  came  out  of  the  service.  The  art  and 
science  of  war  had  been  neglected  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  and  the 
officers  and  men  looked  to  the  Colonel  for  the  care  necessary  to  their 
comfort  and  safety  and  the  discipline  which  made  them  formidable 
to  the  enemy.  Under  his  command  the  regiment  soon  attained  a 
high  rank  for  its  skill  and  discipline. 

I  need  not  speak  of  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista ;  of  the  great  dispar- 
ity in  the  numbers  engaged ;  of  the  importance  of  its  results,  not 
only  in  holding  the  line  of  the  Rio  Grande,  but  perhaps  in  saving  the 


HIS    GREAT    EFFICIENCY    AND    GALLANTRY.  319 

army ;  of  its  decisive  influence  upon  the  fortunes  of  the  war,  and  of 
the  glory  it  shed  upon  our  arms,  for  these  are  all  known  ;  but  I  can- 
not omit  saying  that,  upon  that  rough  field,  the  Third  Indiana  occu- 
pied positions  of  greatest  difficulty  and  responsibility ;  that  it  was 
borne  upon  by  heavy  forces  of  infantry,  and  dashed  against  by  long 
lines  of  cavalry,  and  that  in  all  the  changing  fortunes  of  the  day  it 
was  neither  broken  nor  bent.  Col.  Lane  and  the  regiment  were  hon- 
orably mentioned  in  the  report  of  the  commanding  General. 

After  the  discharge  of  the  Third,  Col.  Lane  organized  and  com- 
manded the  Fifth  Indiana  regiment,  which  was  composed  largely  of 
his  discharged  veterans.  That  regiment  rendered  valuable  service, 
and  was  discharged  with  a  character  highly  honorable  and  gratifying 
to  its  commander.  Colonel  Lane  was  kind  toward  his  men,  careful  of 
their  wants,  generous  toward  his  subordinate  officers,  yet  strict  in  his 
discipline,  and  enjoyed  both  the  affection  and  confidence  of  his  com- 
mand. In  the  enemy's  country  he  was  vigilant  and  active,  and  upon 
the  field  of  battle  cool,  sagacious  and  brave. 

Upon  his  return  home,  Col.  Lane  was  chosen  by  a  large  vote  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  of  the  State,  and  in  1852  was  elected  to  Congress 
from  the  same  district  which  his  father  had  represented  nearly 
twenty  years  before.  He  did  not  participate  largely  in  the  debates, 
and  his  service  in  the  House  was  not  specially  marked.  He  supported 
the  administration  of  President  Pierce,  and  upon  its  passage  voted  for 
the  Kansas-Nebri  ska  bill.  I  will  not  add  to  what  the  Senator  lately 
his  colleague  has  said  of  his  eventful  life  after  he  left  the  State  of  In- 
diana. The  estimate  that  may  be  put  upon  much  of  his  conduct 
while  he  was  connected  with  the  border  strife  must  depend  upon  the 
standpoint  from  which  it  is  viewed.  His  character  was  not  obscure, 
nor  his  conduct  concealed.  His  virtues  and  his  faults  were  alike  con- 
spicuous, and  will  now  remain  as  models  for  imitation  or  beacons  of 
dangers  to  be  avoided. 

His  ambition  and  passions  were  imperious,  and  his  will  dominant, 
so  that,  defiant  of  opposition  and  popular  opinion,  he  pursued  his  ob- 
jects with  an  energy  and  force  that  wrung  success  from  adverse  cir- 
cumstances and  reluctant  fortune.  He  was  not  endowed  with  high 
powers  of  argument,  nor  with  cultivated  imagination  or  elevated  sen- 


320  HIS    INNOCENCE HIS    INSANITY. 

timent,  nor  did  he  possess  in  a  high  degree  the  command  of  our 
language,  yet  the  form  and  impulse  of  his  nature,  sometimes  carry- 
ing him  to  the  verge  of  frenzy,  made  him  a  public  speaker  of  great 
power  and  a  formidable  revolutionary  leader.  Implacable  toward 
his  foes,  he  was  generous  toward  his  friends  and  untiring  in  his 
efforts  to  serve  them. 

I  think  it  proper  on  this  occasion  to  say  that  on  the  evening  before 
leaving  this  city  for  his  home,  he  sent  for  me  to  examine  some  docu- 
ments which  he  had  obtained  for  his  defense  against  a  recent  charge 
that  he  had  received  money*  for  his  services  in  connection  with  some 
Indian  business.  Upon  examination  of  the  papers,  and  as  I  under- 
stood the  case,  I  thought  his  vindication  complete.  I  have  under- 
stood that  upon  a  like  examination  my  colleague  arrived  at  the  same 
opinion. 

It  was  a  sad  communication  to  each  one  of  us,  when  we  were  told 
that  one  of  our  number  was  in  the  hands  of  death.  In  whatever  form 
that  messenger  from  another  world  may  come,  he  strikes  us  with  awe 
and  terror ;  but  his  presence  is  never  so  appalling  as  when  he  lays  his 
destroying  hand  upon  the  human  intellect,  enthrones  distraction,  sets 
the  faculties  at  war,  and  proclaims 

"  Mischief,  thou  art  afoot — 
Take  thou  what  course  thou  wilt!" 

An  active,  perturbed  spirit  has  gone  from  our  midst,  and  from  this 
saddest  permission  of  Providence  we  are  admonished  of  the  frailty  of 
the  human  intellect,  of  its  inability  to  preserve  itself,  and  of  its 
strange  and  unnatural  action  when  broken  loose  from  the  lines  pre- 
scribed for  its  government. 

The  following  address  from  the  Republican  Represent- 
ative from  Lane's  Indiana  district,  (Mr.  Farquahr,) 
is  significant  in  the  fact  that  he  was  the  opponent  whom 
Lane  so  triumphantly  "  laid  out  "  when  he  was  elected 
to  Congress  in  1852,  and  by  whom  Lane  was  in  turn  de- 
feated in  .1854,  on  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  question  : 

*This  refers  to  the  charge  in  the  Chicago  Tribune.  No  proceedings 
were  ever  had  on  it  in  the  Senate. 


GREAT    QUALITIES    OF    HIS    IRON    NATURE.  321 

From  the  Congressional  Globe,  July  18,  1866,  page  3915: 

Mr.  Farquahr.  Mr.  Speaker:  As  the  Representative  of  the  Fourth 
Congressional  District  of  Indiana,  I  arise  to  respond  to  the  anounce- 
ment  of  the  death  of  Senator  Lane  of  Kansas  under  circumstances 
both  painful  and  embarrassing.  It  was  in  the  district  from  which  I 
come  that  he  was  born  and  spent  the  years  of  childhood  and  early 
manhood.  It  was  there  that  the  pioneers  knew  him  as  the  prattling 
child,  and  their  offspring  as  the  associate  of  the  festive  board  and 
comrade  in  arms,  as  they  bore  triumphantly  our  "  starry  banner"  to 
the  capital  of  a  sister  Republic.  It  was  there  his  happiest  days  were 
spent,  under  the  influence  and  benign  care  of  a  pious  Christian 
mother  and  the  unrestrained  society  of  his  highly  educated  and  ac- 
complished sisters  that  the  gentler  qualities  of  his  iron  nature  were 
cultivated  and  developed.  It  was  there  that  he  first  gave  evidence  of 
those  remarkable  powers  of  endurance  that  enabled  him  to  success- 
fully compete  with  all  opposition  in  whatever  field  of  enterprise 
he  embarked.  It  was  there  that  he  first  drew  his  maiden  sword  and 
led  to  the  field  the  stalwart  comrades  in  arms  who  won  with  him  at 
Buena  Vista  their  full  share  of  the  imperishable  glory  of  that  hard- 
fought  field.  It  was  there  that  he  developed  in  repeated  contests  his 
acknowledged  pre-eminence  as  one  of  the  most  successful  political 
debaters  of  the  age,  who  never  made  a  canvass  but  in  triumph. 

Senator  Lane  was  born  at  Lawrence  burgh,  Indiana,  in  June,  1814, 
and  was  the  son  of  Hon.  Amos  Lane,  who  represented  that  district  in 
the  Congress  of  the  Republic.  His  father  was  widely  known  as  a 
prominent  Democratic  politician  of  Indiana,  and  a  successful  lawyer 
•of  more  than  ordinary  abilities.  It  was  in  the  bitter  contests  of  the 
old  Whigs  and  Democrats,  in  which  his  father  took  a  conspicuous 
part,  that  the  Senator,  then  a  youth,  became  inspired  with  the  love 
of  politics,  which  in  after  years  fashioned  and  moulded  his  character, 
habits  and  actions,  culminating  in  eminent  success  and  calamitous 
<leath.  Senator  Lane  was  emphatically  a  man  of  the  people.  With 
the  politicians  he  never  was  popular,  but  while  in  Indiana  sustained 
successfully  a  war  for  pre-eminence  with  those  of  his  own  party. 
With  the  people  he  was  a  great  favorite  and  successfully  enlisted 
them  in  his  behalf  in  every  contest  in  which  he  participated,  and 


322  BELOVED   AS    A    MILITARY    LEADER. 

served  as  Lieutenant  Governor,  Senatorial  Elector,  and  as  Repre- 
sentative in  the  33d  Congress,  from  my  State. 

It  was  not  his  forte  to  inaugurate  and  mature  the  policy  of  his 
party,  so  much  as  to  study  and  follow  the  lead  of  the  people,  and 
thereby,  seemingly,  at  least,  become  the  champion  of  their  favorite 
measures.  He  was  a  bold,  fearless  and  successful  advocate  of  what- 
ever cause  he  championed,  and  the  friends  of  human  freedom,  on  the 
western  border,  have  lost  an  able  leader  in  the  great  cause  to  which 
they  and  he  showed  so  much  devotion  and  made  so  much  sacrifice. 
He  was  a  self-made  and  self-reliant  man  who  scorned  dependence  on 
others,  appreciating,  if  not  boastfully,  with  confidence  the  sentiment: 

"  Thy  spirit,  independence,  let  me  share, 
Lord  of  the  lion  heart  and  eagle  eye, 

Thy  steps  I  follow  with  my  bosom  bare, 

Nor  heed  the  storm  that  howls  along  the  sky." 

As  a  military  leader,  he  was  beloved  by  those  who  served  under 
him.  In  Mexico,  and  especially  at  Buena  Vista,  in  command  of  the 
Third  Indiana  Infantry,  he  won  with  those  under  him  imperishable 
glory  as,  in  the  last  charge  of  our  enemy  on  that  to  them  fatal  day, 
his  regiment  did  invaluable  service  on  their  flank,  while  the  grape  of 
Captain  Bragg  arrested  their  desperate  charge  in  front. 

The  devotion  of  the  men  who  served  with  him  in  Kansas  attests  his 
services  to  that  noble  young  State.  He  fought  its  battles,  shared  its 
fortunes,  served  its  people,  and  received  its  honors.  His  restless 
spirit  is  still  forever,  and  that  iron  form  so  familiar  to  his  associates 
in  the  camp,  the  Senate  chamber,  at  the  bar  and  at  the  social  board, 
reposes  beneath  the  soil  of  his  adoption  that  he  defended  so  well. 
"Would  that  it  had  gone  out  differently,  in  the  fore  front  of  battle, 
with  armor  on  and  victory  perching  on  our  banners. 

Mr.  Niblack.  Mr.  Speaker :  I  feel  that  I  ought  not  to  allow  this  oc- 
casion to  pass  without  saying  a  few  words. 

Mr.  Lane's  ancestors,  like  mine,  were  among  those  who  first  pene- 
trated the  wilderness  of  that  region  of  country  which  has  since 
become  the  great  State  of  Indiana ;  and  although  my  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  him  did  not  commence  in  early  life,  yet  I  have  had 


A    MARKED    MAN    IN    ALL    RELATIONS    OF    LIFE.        323 

with  him  for  many  years  an  agreeable  acquaintance  and  pleasant 
personal  relations. 

I  have  been  associated  with  him  in  legislative  positions  which  have 
brought  me  more  or  less  in  contact  with  him.  My  first  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  him  commenced  in  the  year  1849,  at  the  time  when 
he  was  inaugurated  as  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  State  of  Indiana. 
I  was  then  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  that  State 
for  the  first  time.  The  year  following  I  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of 
the  State,  of  which  he  was  the  presiding  officer  by  virtue  of  his  posi- 
tion as  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  State.  I  served  as  a  Senator 
during  the  remainder  of  his  official  term.  Before  that  I  had  only 
heard  of  him  as  the  gallant  Colonel  of  two  of  our  favorite  Indiana 
regiments,  and  I  only  knew  him  by  reputation.  My  acquaintance 
thus  formed  with  him  continued  until  the  time  of  his  death.  Although 
I  was  never  personally  intimate  with  him,  our  personal  relations 
were  always  kind,  and  differing,  though  we  often  did,  the  exciting 
questions  which  had  occupied  the  public  mind  since  that  time  never 
disturbed  our  kind  relations. 

I  can  say,  and  say  with  truth,  that  Gen.  Lane  was,  in  all  the  relations 
of  life  in  which  I  knew  him,  a  marked  man.  He  was  not  a  learned 
man.  He  was  not  so  cultivated  as  others ;  but  he  was  a  man  of 
strong  will,  of  great  force  of  character,  of  indomitable  energy,  and  of 
high  ambition.  He  always  became  a  central  figure  in  any  movement 
in  which  he  was  engaged,  and  he  always  bore  a  prominent  part  in 
any  enterprise  with  which  he  connected  himself.  As  a  political 
leader,  although  apparently  bold  and  reckless,  he  was  in  truth  a  dis- 
creet and  prudent  man.  I  always  conceived  him  cautious  in  devising 
his  plans  and  mapping  out  his  future  life,  but  bold  and  resolute  in 
the  execution  of  his  plans,  never  deterred  by  any  dangers  which 
seemed  to  threaten  him  personally  or  by  any  consequences  which 
might  result  to  him.  From  what  I  knew  of  him,  I  could  not  regard 
him  in  any  other  light  than  as  a  man  of  both  physical  and  moral 
courage. 

As  a  military  leader,  his  courage,  I  presume,  is  unquestioned,  and 
the  other  conflicts  in  which  he  engaged,  and  which  have  been  spoken 
of  here  to-day,  I  think  sufficiently  establish  his  reputation  as  a  man 


324  PROMINENT    IN    POLITICAL    HISTORY. 

of  moral  courage.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  refer  to  the  scenes  which 
have  been  portrayed  by  the  gentlemen  who  have  preceded  me.  They 
take  one  view  of  those  questions,  and  I,  perhaps  unfortunately  to  my- 
self, take  the  other  view.  But  while  thus  advocating  these  other 
views,  and  differing  from  General  Lane  as  I  have  done,  I  am  not  the 
less  willing  to  bear  testimony  to  those  traits  of  character  which  have 
made  him  so  prominent  in  the  political  history  of  the  country  for  the 
last  fifteen  or  twenty  years.  As  I  have  remarked,  he  was  a  man  of 
ambition.  He  struggled  hard  to  obtain  that  political  prominence 
and  power  and  influence  which  in  the  later  years  of  his  life  he  pos- 
sessed. After  years  of  unremitting  struggle,  after  passing  through 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  contests  in  the  history  of  this  country, 
he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  position  which  gave  him  influence  and 
power  in  the  councils  of  the  Nation.  He  became  a  member  of  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  was  continued  for  many  years  pre- 
ceding his  death  in  a  position  which  many  of  the  best  minds  of  the 
country  have  been  willing  to  devote  a  large  share  of  the  best  portion 
of  their  lives  to  attain — a  position  that  would  gratify  the  ambition  of 
most  men. 

Possessing  so  much,  therefore,  that  would  seem  to  have  endeared 
life  to  an  ambitious  man,  the  struggle  must  have  been  a  fearful  one, 
the  despair  must  have  been  terrible,  which  induced  him  to  lay  violent 
hands  upon  himself  and  become  the  destroyer  of  his  own  life.  Of  all 
the  forms  in  which  death  can  come,  none  is  so  mysterious  and  terri- 
ble as  the  one  by  which  his  life  was  closed.  It  is  hard  for  us  to  con- 
ceive that  one  so  gifted,  and  occupying  so  exalted  a  position,  should 
grow  so  weary  of  life.  But  by  his  own  act,  he  has  passed  away  from 
among  us.  As  has  been  well  remarked  by  the  gentleman  from  Kan- 
sas, [Mr.  Clarke,]  it  is  our  duty,  a  duty  which  ought  to  be  strictly 
observed,  to  draw  the  veil  of  charity  over  all  his  faults  and  failings, 
and  the  misfortunes,  whatever  they  may  have  been,  which  darkened 
the  close  of  his  career. 

As  a  citizen  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  before  he  emigrated  to  the  far- 
distant  Teiritory,  he  was  already  a  marked  and  distinguished  man  ; 
and  in  the  great  struggle  of  life  through  which  lie  has  passed,  he  has 
given  evidence  of  some  of  the  highest  traits  of  manhood.  Indiana 


THE    TRIBUTES    OF    POLITICAL    OPPONENTS.  325 

cannot  be  insensible  to  the  great  loss  which  Kansas  has  sustained  in 
his  death.  I  therefore  bear  my  willing  testimony  to  much  that  has 
been  said  in  his  behalf  by  those  who  have  preceded  me  on  this  occa- 
sion. As  a  citizen  of  Indiana,  I  have  to  express  my  profound  regret 
at  the  sad  termination  of  so  active  and  eventful  a  life  as  his  has  been. 
I  very  heartily  second  the  resolutions  which  have  been  offered. 

The  speech  of  Senator  Hendricks,  the  reader  will  ob- 
serve, so  far  as  his  conduct  in  the  "  Border  Ruffian  war" 
is  concerned,  is  made  with  all  the  diplomatic  caution  of 
a  statesman  anxious  to  do  justice  to  the  many  Mexican 
war  heroes  then  still  an  important  element  in  politics, 
and  at  the  same  time  give  no  offense  to  those  more  im- 
portant political  elements  the  "  butternut "  sympathisers 
of  Indiana  and  the  entire  ex-rebel  soldiery  and  citizens 
of  the  South,  so  powerful  an  auxiliary  in  his  aspirations 
to  the  Presidency,  an  ambition  in  which  he  was  halted 
by  Cleveland  at  the  half-way  house  of  the  Vice  Presi- 
dency. He  sailed  through  that  Scilla  and  Chary bdis  of 
politics  with  the  master  mind  and  wisdom  worthy  of  his 
greatness.  Representative  Niblack  had  the  same  mo- 
tives with  less  ambition.  Even  the  Republican  Repre- 
sentative (Mr.  Farquahr)  did  not  care  to  offend  without 
absolute  necessity  the  sensitiveness  of  many  people  of 
his  State  in  anything  that  would  have  reflected  upon 
Indiana's  chivalry  on  the  field  of  Buena  Vista. 

The  writer  cares  nothing  about  such  considerations  ; 
and  the  truth  of  history  justifies  him  in  saying  that 
what  was  the  disgrace  of  Col.  Bowies'  regiment  became 
the  crowning  glory  of  Lane's  achievements.  An  officer 
participant  in  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  an  eye-witness, 


326  HEROIC    EFFORTS    AT    BUENA    VISTA. 

shortly  after  told  me  personally  of  the  opening  of  that 
engagement.  As  Capt.  Bragg  stood  for  orders,  Gen.  Tay- 
lor rode  up  and  gave  the  command :  '*  Capt.  Bragg,  un- 
limber  !"  "  They  will  take  my  pieces,  General,  if  I  do," 
modestly  suggested  Bragg.  "They  will  take  them  any- 
how, by  -  — ,  sir!  Unlimber!"  Only  the  cannon's 
flash  that  followed  was  quicker  than  obedience  to  the 
order;  and  Gen.  Taylor's  further  commands,  rather 
milder,  perhaps,  "A  little  more  grape,  Capt.  Bragg," 
became  the  shibboleth  of  the  triumphant  Whigs  in  his 
elevation  to  the  Presidency.  When  Gen.  Taylor's  Ken- 
tucky pets  seemed  to  falter  in  that  hell  of  fire,  but  recov- 
ering, Old  Zack,  raising  himself  in  his  saddle,  and,  as  if 
in  soliloquy,  exclaimed,  "God  bless  Old  Kentucky!" 

then  it  was  that  the  Indiana  faltered,  its  Colonel 

fled,  and  Lane  rushed  in,  and  as  Farquahr  describes  it, 
that  "  lord  of  the  lion  heart  and  eagle  eye,  *  *  his 
bosom  bare,"  rallied  the  demoralized  and  shattered  rem- 
nants of  Bowies'  command,  restoring  partial  honors  to 
his  regiment,  and  forever  immortalizing  himself  and  the 
Third  Indiana.  That  Buena  Vista  hero  and  Kansas 
patriot,  W.  I.  R.  Blackman,  in  describing  the  scene  as 
he  knew  it  in  the  din  of  battle  and  at  the  campfire,  en- 
thusiastically declared  that  Napoleon  at  the  Bridge  of 
Lodi  was  not  more  heroic  than  Lane  at  Buena  Vista. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

GLIMPSE    AT    EVENTS LANE'S    ACTS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS. 

I  once  met  in  a  stage-coach  an  intelligent,  liberty- 
loving  Swede,  who  had  just  arrived,  but  spoke  English 
with  considerable  accuracy.  Hearing  that  I  was  from 
Lawrence,  he  said:  "Gen.  Lane  lives  there?"  "Yes. 
What  do  you  know  of  Lane?"  "I  read  of  him  in 
Sweden."  "  In  documents  or  papers  from  this  coun- 
try?" "  Some  ;  but  I  read  his  Springfield  [Mo.]  speech 
in  the  Stockholm  Journal."  That  speech  notified  Mis- 
souri slaveholders  that  no  slaves  would  be  returned,  and 
ended  up  by  saying  that  ' '  if  the  army  is  to  be  used  to 
perpetuate  slavery,  Jim  Lane  breaks  his  sword  and  goes 
home." 

The  shot  fired  at  Lexington  when  Paul  Revere  dis- 
mounted was  heard  around  the  world.  The  speech  of 
Lane  to  Missouri  slaveholders  resounded  at  least  as  far 
around  the  world  as  Sweden. 

He  was  the  advance  herald  in  favor  of  taking  slaves 
out  of  the  fields  of  rebel  supplies  and  putting  them  in 
the  battle  lines  of  loyalty.  Grant  did  that  in  the  Wil- 
derness, Thomas  did  it  in  Mississippi,  and  Sherman  did 


328  STRATEGY    AT    DRY  WOOD. 

it  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea  ;  but  Lane  was  the  Columbus 
with  the  egg,  who,  long  before,  broached  the  idea  in  the 
Senate  and  organized  the  colored  troops  in  Kansas. 

His  campaign  in  Missouri  was  the  result  of  the  Bor- 
der Ruffian  war  made  upon  Kansas  in  its  helpless- 
infancy.  He  led  the  "  Kansas  Brigade"  into  the  very 
region  which  had  poured  its  legions  into  Kansas,  over- 
awed her  inhabitants,  stuffed  her  ballot-boxes,  sat  in  her 
legislative  halls,  and  made  her  laws.  That  revenge- 
might  be  taken  by  some  of  his  soldiers  would  be  natural. 
The  men  on  the  border  who  had  invaded  every  locality 
in  Kansas,  and  under  the  plea  of  "  pressing  property  " 
to  sustain  a  code  more  infamous  than  had  ever  been  en- 
acted in  any  slave  State,  stole  their  horses,  appropriated 
their  goods,  and  murdered  their  kindred,  and  were  then 
in  rebellion  against  the  American  Union,  were  not  a 
class  of  people  to  secure  the  highest  tokens  of  considera- 
tion and  sympathy.  The  army  would  be  more  than  hu- 
man from  whom  we  could  expect  that.  In  their  forays 
upon  the  Kansas  border,  bushwhackers  and  guerrillas 
had  massacred  more  men  than  were  killed  in  battle  in 
proportion  to  the  adult  male  inhabitants. 

The  Kansas  Brigade  protected  the  people  as  long  as 
Lane  had  command.  He  repulsed  Gen.  Price's  raid 
at  Drywood,  near  Fort  Scott,  when  Price  had  five  times 
as  many  men  as  his  number  of  well-drilled  soldiers.* 


*  Major  W.  X.  Ewing,  now  of  Wichita,  Kansas,  but  then  a 
man  in  Gen.  Price's  command,  informs  me  that  Lane  made  a  ma>- 
terly  demonstration  of  force,  and  for  a  time  rained  lead  down  on 
them  terrifically. 


ENCHANTMENT    OF    THE    AMERICAN    FLAG.  329 

It  was  a  master-piece  of  strategy,  wherein  he  marshaled 
his  entire  force  as  his  advance  guard,  the  very  boldness 
of  which  led  Price  to  believe  that  he  had  a  competent 
army  in  the  rear  for  his  support.  Any  other  policy 
would  have  left  Fort  Scott  to  death,  destruction  and  pil- 
lage, and  all  the  surrounding  country  to  more  than  the 
usual  calamities  of  war.  He  commanded  a  brigade  with- 
out a  commission,  and  subsisted  himself  without  pay  ; 
no  oath  to  serve  his  country  or  to  obey  the  constitution 
was  ever  found.  He  stood  between  his  beloved  State 
and  all  danger.  His  men  literally  "  swore  by  old  Jim," 
obeyed  him  and  loved  him.  Gen.  Fremont  was  his  su- 
perior, but  he  consulted  rather  than  commanded  him. 

A  prominent  man  told  me  of  a  perilous  trip  of  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  through  the  enemy's  country,  and 
said  no  words  could  express  the  rejoicing  of  his  heart 
when  he  neared  Pleasant  Hill  and  beheld  the  American 
flag  floating  over  the  town.  As  he  registered,  he  re- 
marked to  the  landlord  that  he  observed  by  that  flag 
that  they  had  a  Union  town  there.  With  an  oath  he 
replied,  "By  no  means."  "What,  then,"  said  the 
traveler,  "  does  that  flag  mean  ?"  "It  means  that  Jim 
Lane  raised  it,  and  gave  notice  he  would  burn  the  town 
if  it  was  disturbed."  That  was  true.  He  halted  his 
command  in  line,  and  ordered  details  of  men  to  bring 
into  his  presence  the  leading  men  of  the  town.  The  or- 
der was  imperative.  There  were  bayonets  behind  it. 
They  came.  His  address  was  short :  "  Men  of  Pleasant 
Hill,  I  have  sent  for  you.  I  know  you.  You  are  rebels 


330  REBELS    (JUARD    THE    FL>G. 

against  your  flag  and  your  country.  Look  upon  that 
starry  banner,  which  I  have  just  floated  over  your  heads, 
and  listen  to  me.  I  have  no  men  to  spare  to  protect  it. 
That  flag  is  more  precious  to  the  American  heart  than 
all  the  property  you  possess.  I  shall  return  again  ;  and 
if  you  allow  a  rebel  hand  to  touch  that  flag,  Pleasant 
Hill  will  go  up  with  the  torch  as  sure  as  there  is  a  hell ! 
March  !"  The  flag  floated  over  that  town  as  long  as  Lane 
was  in  the  field. 

Col.  George  W.  Veale,  who  was  in  Lane's  command, 
tells  me  that  he  witnessed  that  scene.  He  says  :  ' '  The 
order  was  given  to  go  into  the  bottom  lands  and  cut  the 
longest  tree  to  be  found  ;  and  the  flag  was  nailed  to  it, 
with  no  halyards  to  lower  and  raise  it ;  and  the  com- 
mand, marching  back  and  forth,  saw  and  cheered  that 
flag  until  tjie  elements  wore  it  to  shreds,  and  the  bare 
pole  stood  as  a  witness  of  the  loyalty  and  gallantry  of 
the  men  who  raised  it.  Jim  Lane  loved  his  State  and 
his  country,  and  was  as  true  a  patriot  as  ever  lived." 

Col.  Veale 's  regiment  was  in  the  hottest  of  the  first 
battles  of  the  border  against  Price.  With  the  experi- 
ence which  he  went  through  in  Lane's  brigade,  and  his 
knowledge  of  Lane  at  the  front  in  the  Price  campaign, 
he  would  be  pretty  apt  to  entertain  such  opinions. 

Major  Thomas  J.  Anderson,  who  was  on  Lane's  staff, 
a  man  whose  honor  and  gallantry  were  never  disputed, 
says:  "  Never  forget  the  flag-raising  at  Pleasant  Hill. 
It  is  the  only  instance  in  history  of  protecting  a  Union 
flag  with  a  rebel  guard.  That  caustic  treatment  not 


GEN.  SWING'S  ORDER  NO.  11.  331 

only  protected  that  flag,  but  saved  many  a  soldier's  life 
in  that  country  then  swarming  with  bushwhackers. 
Lane's  actions  were  honorable  and  heroic." 

Hon.  D.  W.  Wilder,  Surveyor  General,  State  Auditor, 
author  of  the  Annals  of  Kansas,  etc.,  thus  epitomizes 
Lane's  character  :  ' '  Marked  things  about  Lane  :  He  kept 
his  promises  ;  very  few  men  are  so  faithful  to  friends.  He 
did  not  love  money ;  was  not  in  jobs  ;  was  not  corrupt. 
His  capacity  to  lead :  He  made  friends  who  flocked 
around,  followed  and  obeyed  him,  and  enjoyed  doing  it. 
He  could  not  visit  a  hamlet  without  being  surrounded 
by  devoted  friends." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  refer  to  the  raid  on  Lawrence  to 
prove  what  we  say  of  the  desperation  and  barbarity  of 
that  part  of  Missouri  in  the  periods  preceding  the  war. 
The  acts  of  Gen.  Thomas  Ewing — and  acts  speak  louder 
than  words,  but  we  have  both  words  and  acts  to  fall 
back  on — sustain  us.  His  words  are  those  of  the  cele- 
brated "Order  No.  11,"  in  which  he  set  forth  his  reasons 
for  his  acts.  In  that  order  he  designated  depots  for  the 
storage  of  the  goods  and  chattels  of  loyal  men,  and  com- 
manded them  to  come  before  him  with  proofs  of  their 
loyalty,  and  receive  his  protection  ;  and  the  further  no- 
tification, that  all  men  who  did  not  do  so  should  be 
treated  as  public  enemies,  captured  and  imprisoned  or 
otherwise  punished  as  their  crimes  should  deserve. 
Nothing  but  the  unparalleled  wickedness  of  the  men 
who  infested  the  Snibar  hills  and  other  fastnesses  of 
that  district  could  have  justified  such  an  order.  Neither 
Sherman  in  his  march  from  Atlanta  to  the  Sea,  nor  But- 


332  LINCOLN    GIVES    HIM    UNLIMITED    POWER. 

ler  at  New  Orleans,  exceeded  it  in  severity  ;  but  it  was  a 
just  severity,  conscientiously  administered  by  a  just 
man.  It  was  the  extreme  of  humanity  compared  with 
the  fiendish  slaughters  concocted  and  carried  out  by  the 
community  which  it  punished. 

Perhaps  if  we  refer  only  to  the  preservation  of  human 
life  and  property  at  the  time,  Lane's  action  in  the  Price 
raid  was  the  greatest  effort  of  his  life.  His  early  actions 
in  defense  of  Kansas,  both  in  acts  of  incipient  war  and 
oratory,  did  more  in  staying  the  destructive  march  of 
slavery,  in  the  attempt  to  make  it  national — to  use  the 
language  of  Toombs  of  Georgia,  to  enable  him  to  call 
the  roll  of  his  slaves  under  Bunker  Hill  monument — 
were  greater,  because  a  triumph  of  slavery  then  might 
have  been  lasting  beyond  estimation  in  its  results. 

Lincoln  had  tested  and  trusted  Lane.  He  knew  his 
capacity  in  the  forum  and  on  the  field.  He  placed  his 
life  in  his  hands  with  his  camp  within  sound  of  his 
voice  day  and  night  in  the  East  Room  of  the  Presidential 
Mansion.  No  man  in  the  Union — at  least  in  any  loyal 
State — was  given  such  powers.  He  gave  him  almost 
exclusively  the  appointing  power  of  Kansas,  military 
and  civil,  even  overriding  the  Government  of  the  State 
to  do  it.  Gen.  Wilder  well  expresses  the  fountain  of  his 
power:  "He  made  friends,  who  flocked  around,  fol- 
lowed and  obeyed  him,  and  enjoyed  doing  it."  Vice 
President  Hendricks  said  the  same  thing  less  pungently. 
That  expresses  it  all.  He  took  command  of  the  troops 
who  were  proud  to  be  called  Lane's  Brigade,  and  though 


NOT    WRITING    A    DEFENSE    OP    LINCOLN.  333 

he  had  no  commission,  they  would  have  no  other  com- 
mander. President  Lincoln  authorized  him  to  raise  and 
organize  five  regiments,  and  to  fill  all  the  offices.  So 
far  as  the  two  regiments  of  colored  troops  were  con- 
cerned, he  had  no  written  order;  but  he  had  the  per- 
sonal promise  of  the  President  that  he  would  see  that 
they  were  clothed  and  subsisted  until  colored  troops 
should  be  recognized  as  soldiers  in  the  armies  of  the  Na- 
tion ;  and  they  were  so  subsisted.  Whether  this  state 
of  facts  was  known  or  suspected  when  an  effort  was  made 
to  take  some  colored  men  out  of  Captain  William  H. 
Small  wood's  company  by  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  I  cannot 
answer.  It  is  as  unnecessary  to  discuss  reasons  for  the 
bestowal  of  such  power  as  it  is  to  write  a  homily  in  de- 
fense of  the  character  and  integrity  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. The  world  will  be  satisfied  he  knew  enough  of 
them  to  warrant  him  in  the  trust  he  had  confided. 
Faith  in  the  combined  honesty  and  ability  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  War  Secretary  are  not  subjects  requiring  fur- 
ther proof  of  their  wisdom.  The  justification  of  their 
acts,  as  well  as  the  acts,  have  passed  into  history. 

Gen.  Lane  was  one  the  most  sensitive  men  I  ever 
knew ;  but  his  wonderful  will-power  enabled  him  to 
conceal  his  emotions.  In  the  campaign  of  1864,  his 
despondency  alarmed  me.  He  was  at  Leavenworth, 
where,  owing  to  the  nomination  of  Hon.  Sidney  Clarke 
over  Hon.  A.  C.  Wilder  for  Congress,  the  whole  city 
seemed  against  the  Republican  ticket.  I  found  Lane  at 
the  Mansion  House  in  bed,  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  in 


334  LAXE    EXTREMELY    SENSITIVE. 

despair,  declaring  that  the  best  he  could  do  was  to  go  to 
work  specially  for  members  of  the  Legislature.  I  tried 
to  rally  him,  denouncing  him  for  his  weakness,  and  tell- 
ing him  that  if  his  opponents  knew  his  despondent  con- 
dition, he  was  already  defeated;  but  that  we  had  just 
had  a  most  successful  meeting,  filling  Laing's  hall  and 
overwhelming  all  opposition — not  an  Anti-Lane  man 
venturing  to  interrupt  us.  I  told  him  that  our  candi- 
date for  Governor,  Samuel  J.  Crawford,  was  a  gallant 
soldier  who  would  rally  the  army  boys,  and  that  Mr. 
Clarke's  apparent  want  of  strength  was  not  so  much  his 
weakness  as  the  local  attachment  to  Wilder,  which  was 
being  rapidly  overcome.  Still  his  melancholy  was  ap- 
palling, even  to  aberration  of  mind.  But  the  advance 
of  Price's  army  against  Kansas  revived  all  his  energy, 
and  he  made  two  of  the  most  remarkable  campaigns  on 
record — one  in  the  army  against  Price,  and  the  other  on 
the  stump  in  every  city  and  hamlet  in  the  State. 

Lane  entered  the  arena  of  politics  and  war  at  the  turn- 
ing point  of  despotic  power — the  two  went  together — the 
Big  Springs  convention  and  the  Wakarusa  war  were  but 
two  months  apart.  The  first  was  political,  but  it  uttered 
the  first  shout  of  war  when  it  declared  that  the  people 
would  depend  upon  argument  as  long  as  hope  of  success 
was  reasonable,  but  would  "resist  to  a  bloody  issue" 
when  hope  in  peace  was  lost.  Lane  advocated  the  reso- 
tion  in  his  committee,  and  Governor  Reeder,  in  speak- 
ing on  it,  announced  that  we  would  sustain  it  "  with  the 
steady  arm  and  the  sure  eye."  In  the  elements  of  war 


A    MOST    IMPORTANT    ERA.  335 

we  were  as  children  inexperienced.  The  people  came 
for  peace — their  enemies  for  war.  No  military  organizer 
was  among  us.  Half  our  territory  was  an  imaginary 
line  between  us  and  our  enemies — the  other  half  was  the 
Missouri  river.  In  sight  of  our  shores  were  twice  as 
many  men  who  fought  under  Col.  Doniphan  in  the  Mex- 
ican war  as  there  were  in  Kansas  who  had  ever  seen  a 
hostile  gun.  Never  had  a  dozen  of  our  men  stood  in  the 
ranks  of  battle  here  till  Lane  gave  the  word  to  "  Fall 
in  !"  Twice  had  we  been  trampled  on  at  the  polls,  and 
tamely  submitted.  He  leaped  into  the  breach  at  as  im- 
portant an  epoch  to  Kansas  as  was  the  appearance  of 
Blucher  to  Wellington  when  he  emerged  from  the  woods 
at  Trichemont  in  the  Battle  of  Waterloo.  There  was 
more  at  stake — the  freedom  of  man  ;  the  perpetuation 
of  republican  government,  and  the  advancement  of  the 
world's  civilization.  The  Big  Springs  resolutions  and 
Lane  and  his  men  in  the  Wakarusa  war  were  to  the 
American  conflict  what  the  Mecklenburg  resolutions  and 
Marion  and  his  men  were  to  the  Revolution.  The  enemy 
came  with  1200  men,  and  the  600  Free-State  men  organ- 
ized and  disciplined  by  him  confronted  them,  cowed 
them, compromised  and  settled,  through  Gov.  Shannon; 
and  finally  threatened  disaster  was  terminated  by  Lane 
following  the  remnant  of  them  that  wanted  to  fight  until 
they  retreated  into  Missouri ;  and  he  continued  the  ter- 
ror of  all  the  hostile  country  till  the  war  was  ended. 
What  was  Kansas  when  he  entered  the  arena  ?  It  had 
less  than  15,000  inhabitants.  The  regions  where  are 


336        SEWARD'S  GREAT  COMPLIMENT  TO  KANSAS. 

now  Marysville,  Salina,  Council  Grove  and  Emporia, 
were  the  extreme  of  attempted  western  settlement,  as 
was  the  region  of  Humboldt  on  the  south  ;  and  within 
these  lines  hostile  Indians  made  raids ;  while  on  the 
east  were  white  men  as  barbarous  as  the  Indians  when 
the  shibboleth  of  "  abolitionism  "  was  pronounced. 

Lane  led  no  mercenary  bands.  They  may  have  en- 
tertained chimerical  ideas.  But  no  more  intelligent, 
upright,  honorable  men  ever  fought  in  a  good  cause  than 
the  masses  of  the  Kansas  soldiers  in  the  Free-State  cam- 
paigns and  the  armies  of  the  Union.  They  were  the 
men  before  whom  that  greatest  of  American  statesmen, 
William  H.  Seward,  in  his  great  speech  at  Lawrence,  in 
his  eloquent  peroration,  exclaimed — his  gestures  more 
eloquent  than  his  words — "  I  bow  before  you,  people  of 
Kansas,  as  the  most  intelligent  and  the  bravest  and  the 
most  virtuous  people  in  the  United  States." 


NOTES. — At  page  149,  we  have  stated  that  Hon.  Frederick  P,  Stanton, 
Governor  of  Kansas  Territory  in  1857—8,  brought  three  slaves  to  Kan- 
sas. This  is  incorrect.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Laura  Stanton  Moss,  of 
Topeka,  informs  us  that  he  had  no  slaves  then  nor  for  a  long  time  be- 
fore he  emigrated  to  Kansas. 

The  writer,  recognizing  his  own  imperfections,  cannot  refrain  from 
gratefully  acknowledging  his  obligations  to  Hon.  F.  G.  Adams,  of 
the  State  Historical  Society,  and  all  his  assistants;  to  that  distin- 
guished printer,  Mr.  Edward  P.  Harris ;  and  to  Hon.  D.  W.  Wilder 
and  his  inestimable  Annals,  for  valuable  assistance. 

The  drawings  for  the  illustrations  were  made  by  Mr.  Adam  Rohe, 
of  Lawrence,  except  that  of  "  The  Homicide  of  Gaius  Jenkins,"  which 
was  made  by  Miss  Church,  of  Topeka;  and  the  engraving  was  exe- 
cuted by  Teachenor-Bartberger  Engraving  Company,  of  Kansas  City, 
Missouri — all  of  which  are  admirably  done. 


In  the  "House  of  Seven  Gables"  Haw- 
thorue  says  :  "These  railroads  —  could  but 
the  whistle  be  made  musical  aud  the  rum- 
ble  and  the  jar  got  rid  of  —  are  positively 
the  greatest  blessings  that  the  ages  have 
wrought  out  for  us.  They  give  uswini;s. 
they  annihilate  the  toil  and  dust  of  pilgrim- 
age; they  spiritualize  travel!  Transition 
being  so  facile,  what  can  be  any  man's  in- 
ducement to  tarry  in  one  spot?  Why 
should  he  make  himself  a  prisoner  for  life 
in  brick  and  stone  and  old  worm-eaten 
timber,  when  he  may  just  as  easily  dwell 
wherever  the  fit  and  beautiful  shall  offer 
him  a  home  ?  " 


The 

Santa  Fe 
Route 


GIVES  US  WINGS! 


It  is  a  Kansas  road  for  Kansas     J 

people  — 

Just  as  integral  a  part  of  the 

State's  history-  as  its 

early-day  heroes. 

It  stands  for  the  development 

of  Kansas. 

When  you  travel  on  a  Santa  Fe 

train,  there  is  a  home  feeling, 

which  is  thrown  in  with  the 

ticket. 


THE     LINES    OF    THE 


MISSOURI 

PACIFIC 

RAILWAY 


EXTEND   FROM   KANSAS  CITY 


NORTH,   SOUTH,   EAST,  WEST. 


ELEGANT    THROUGH    CAR    SERVICE, 
-        CONSISTING    OF 


PULLMAN     BUFFET    SLEEPERS    AND 
RECLINING    CHAIR    CARS, 
SEATS    FREE. 


DAILY  FAST  TRAINS 


REACHING      THE     RICH      AGRICULTURAL     DISTRICT,     MINERAL 
AND    TIMBER    LANDS    OF    NINE    DIFFERENT    STATES. 

PAMPHLETS  ON  THESE  STATES.  LAND  FOLDERS,  ETC., 
FURNISHED  FREE,  UPON  APPLICATION  TO  ANY  OF  THE  COM- 
PANY'S AGENTS. 


J.   H.   LYON, 


WESTERN  PASSENGER  AGT.,  800  MAIN  STREET. 
KANSAS    CITY,    MO. 


C,  Q,  WARNER,  W.  B.  DODDRIDGE,  H.  C.  TOWNSEND, 

VICE-PRESIDENT  CCN'L    MANAGER.  GEN      PASS.    AND    TKT.    ACT. 

ST.     LOUIS,     MO.  


World's  Pictorial  Line. 

SERVICE   UNSURPASSED. 


UNION    DEPOTS,     SUPERB     EQUIPMENTS,     PULL/IAN     PALACE 
SLEEPERS,    PULL/IAN    DINING    CARS. 


The  Original 
^^    \Jverland 

Route 

PASSES   THROUGH    THE 

" HEART  OF  THE  ROCKIES" 

Amidst  the  most  magnificent  Scenery  on 
this  Continent. 

ASK  YOUR  NEAREST  AGENT  ABOUT  IT. 


E.  DICKINSON,  E.  L.  LOMAX, 

GENERAL  MANAGER.  GEN.  PASS.  &  TKT.  AGT 

OflAHA,  NEBRASKA. 


The  Best  for  the  Last, 


Asia,  Africa,  Europe,  and  then  America,  New 
England,  the  Middle  and  Western  States,  the 
rugged  Pacific  Coast ;  then,  last  and  best  of  nil 


Southwest  Louisiana, 


Where  is  found  a  most  marvelous  combination 
of  beautiful  prairies,  valuable  woodlands,  navi- 
gable rivers,  charming  lakes,  the  most  healthful 
climate  on  the  globe,  and  a  soil  of  wonderful 
productiveness.  It  is  the  best  place  in  the 
United  States  now  for  the  Homeseeker,  the 
Speculator,  and  for  a  Southern  winter  home. 
The  way  to  reach  there  is  via 

64 The  Watkins  Route," 

Kansas  City,  Watkins  &  Gulf  Railway. 


J.   B.  WATKINS,   President, 

Lawrence,   Kas. 


THOS.  SAUNDERS,   Gen'l  Manager, 

Lake  Charles,  La. 


, 

:•  ; 


mm 

4f&s£ 


-l-i?*55* » 

UC  SOUT«W  «CW*AL  UBWRY  FAOUTY 


